1 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Commodore  ^V^on  McGandless 


LIST,  YE   LANDSMEN! 


LIST.  YE  LANDSMEN! 


A  ROMANCE  OF  INCIDENT 


BY 

W.  CLARK    RUSSELL 

AUTHOR   OF    "the   WRECK   OF  THE    '  GROSVENOR,'  "    "  AN    OCEAN   TRAGEDY," 
"  THE   FROZEN    PIRATE,"    ETC.,    ETC. 


NEW  YORK 

CASSELL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
104  &  106  Fourth  Avenue 


Copyright,  1892,  by 
CASSELL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 


A II  rights  reserved. 


THE    MERSHON   COMPANY    PRESS 
KAHWAY,   N,  J, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PACK 

I.  I  Arrive  in  the  Downs, i 

II.  I  Visit  My  Uncle  at  Deal,       ....  10 

III.  The  Gibbet, 18 

IV.  I  Escape  From  the  Press,          ....  27. 
V.  Captain  Michael  Greaves  of  the  B/ack  Watch,  34 

VI.  I  View  the  Brig, 43 

VII.  A  Strange  Story, 53 

VIII.  A  Startling  Proposal, 62 

IX.  I  Fight  Van  Laar, 71 

X.  We  Tranship  Van  Laar 82 

XI.  The  Rebecca 95 

XII.  The  Round  Robin, in 

XIII.  A  Midnight  Scare, 124 

XIV.  I  Send  My  Letter, 137 

XV.  The  White  Water, 147 

XVI.  Greaves'  Island, 160 

XVII.  The  Ship  in  the  Cave, 171 

XVIII.  We  Tranship  the  Dollars 183 

XIX.  Off  the  Island 198 

XX.  We  Start  for  Home 213 


111 


C 


IV 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

XXI.  A  Fight, 

XXII.  Greaves  Sickens, 

XXIII.  The  Whaler, 

XXIV.  A  Sailor's  Will, 
XXV.  Aurora  Entertains  Us, 

XXVI.  A  Tragic  Shift  of  Course, 

XXVII.  BoL's  Ruse,      .        .        .        . 

XXVIII.  I  Scheme,      .... 

XXIX.  Amsterdam  Island, 

XXX.  My  Scheme, 

XXXI.  A  Quaker  Skipper. 

XXXII.  Mynheer  Tulp,   . 


PACK 
242 

267 
284 

345 
357 
373 
391 


LIST,  YE  LANDSMEN! 


CHAPTER  I. 

I    ARRIVE    IN    THE    DOWNS. 

Sailors  visit  many  fine  countries  ;  but  there  is  none — not 
the  very  finest — that  delights  them  more  than  the  coast  of  their 
own  native  land  when  they  sight  it  after  a  long  voyage.  The 
flattest  piece  of  treeless  English  shore — such  a  melancholy, 
sandy,  muddy  waste,  say,  as  that  which  the  River  Stour  winds 
greasily  and  slimily  through  past  Sandwich,  into  the  salt,  green, 
sparkling  waters  of  the  Small  Downs — the  English  sailor  will 
look  at  with  a  thirstier  and  sharper  pleasure  than  ever  could 
be  excited  in  him  by  the  most  majestic  and  splendid  scenery 
abroad. 

Thus  in  effect  thought  I,  as  I  stood  upon  the  quarter-deck 
of  \.\).t  Royal  Brunswicker,  viewing  the  noble  elevation  of  the 
white  South  Foreland  off  which,  the  ship  was  then  leisurely 
rolling  as  she  flapped  her  way  to  the  Downs  with  her  yards 
squared  to  the  weak  westerly  breeze  ;  for — to  take  you  into 
my  confidence  at  once — this  part  of  the  coast  of  old  England 
I  had  the  best  of  all  reasons  for  loving.  First  of  all,  I  was  born 
at  Folkestone  ;  next,  on  losing  my  parents,  I  was  taken  charge 
of  by  a  maternal  uncle,  Captain  Joseph  Round,  whose  house 
stood  on  the  road  between  Sandwich  and  Deal  ;  and  then, 
when  I  first  went  to  sea,  I  was  bound  apprentice  to  a  master 
sailing  out  of  Dover  Harbor  ;  so  that  this  range  of  coast  had 
peculiar  associations  for  me.  Consider.  It  comprised  the 
sum  of  my  boyish,  and  of  most,  therefore,  of  my  happiest, 
memories  ;  indeed,  I  could  not  gaze  long  at  those  terraces  of 
chalk,  with  their  green  slopes  of  down  on  top,  and  with  clusters 
of  houses  between  sparkling  like  frost,  and  many  a  lozenge- 
shaped  window  glancing  back  the  light  of  the  sun  with  the 
clear,  sharp  gleam  of  the  diamond,  without  recollection  stealing 
in  a  moisture  into  my  eyes. 


2  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

The  ship  was  the  Royal  Brunswicker.  I  was  her  first  mate. 
The  name  of  her  master  was  Spalding  ;  mine  William  Fielding. 
Captain  Spalding  had  married  a  relative  of  my  mother's.  He 
was  a  north-countryman,  and  had  sailed  for  many  years  from 
the  Tyne  and  from  the  Wear  ;  but  two  years  before  the  date 
of  this  story — that  is  to  say,  in  the  middle  of  the  year  1812 — 
he  had  been  offered  the  command  of  the  Royal  Brunswicker,  a 
small,  cozy,  lubberly,  full-rigged  ship  of  490  tons,  belonging  to 
the  Port  of  London.  I  was  stopping  at  Deal  with  my  uncle  at 
that  time,  and  heard  that  Captain  Spalding — but  I  forget  how 
the  news  of  such  a  thing  reached  me  at  Deal — was  in  want  of 
a  second  mate.  I  applied  for  the  post,  and,  on  the  merits  of 
my  relationship  with  the  captain's  wife,  to  say  no  more,  I  ob- 
tained the  appointment. 

We  sailed  away  in  the  beginning  of  September,  181 2,  bound 
to  the  east  coast  of  South  America.  Before  we  were  up  with 
the  Line  the  mate — a  sober,  gray-haired,  God-fearing  Scots- 
man— died,  and  I  took  his  post  and  served  as  mate  during  the 
rest  of  the  voyage.  We  called  at  several  ports,  receiving  and 
discharging  cargo,  and  then  headed  for  Kingston,  Jamaica, 
whence,  having  filled  up  flush  to  the  hatches,  we  proceeded  to 
England  in  a  fleet  of  forty  sail,  convoyed  by  a  two-decker,  a 
couple  of  frigates,  and  some  smaller  ships  of  the  King.  But 
in  latitude  20°  north  a  hurricane  of  wind  broke  us  up.  Every 
ship  looked  to  herself.  We,  with  top-gallant  masts  on  deck, 
squared  away  under  bare  poles,  and  drove  for  three  days  bow 
under  in  foam,  the  seas  meeting  in  slinging  sheets  of  living 
green  upon  the  forecastle.  We  prayed  to  God  not  to  lose 
sight  of  us,  and  kept  the  chain-pumps  going,  and  every  hour 
a  dram  of  red  rum  was  served  out  to  the  hearts  ;  and  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  to  steer,  and  pump,  and  swear,  and 
hope. 

Well,  the  gale  broke,  and  the  amazing  rush  of  the  wings  of 
seas  sank  into  a  filthy,  staggering  sloppiness  of  broken,  rugged 
surge,  amidst  which  we  tumbled  with  hideous  discomfort  for 
another  two  days,  so  straining  that  we  would  look  over  the 
side  thinking  to  behold  the  water  full  of  tree-nails  and  planks 
of  bottom  sheathing.  But  the  Royal  Brunswicker  was  built  to 
swim.  All  the  honesty  of  the  slow,  patient,  laborious  shipwright 
of  her  time  lived  in  every  fiber  of  her  as  a  noble  conscience  in 
a  good  man.  When  the  weather  at  last  enabled  us  to  make 
sail  and  proceed  from  a  meridian  of  longitude  many  degrees 
west  of  the  point  where  we  had  parted  company  with  the  con- 


/  ARRIVE  IN   THE  DOWNS.  3 

voy,  we  found  the  ship  staunch  as  she  had  been  at  the  hour  of 
her  birth. 

All  the  water  she  had  taken  in  had  tumbled  into  her  from 
above.  What  say  ye  to  this,  ye  sailors  of  the  paddle  and  the 
screw  ?  We  made  the  rest  of  the  passage  alone,  cracking  on 
with  the  old  bucket  to  recover  lost  time,  and  keeping  a 
bright  lookout  for  anything  that  might  betoken  an  enemy's 
ship. 

And  now  on  the  afternoon  of  September  19,  in  the  year  of  God 
1814,  the  Royal  Brunswicker  was  off  the  South  Foreland, 
languidly  flapping  with  square  yards  before  a  light  westerly 
breeze  into  the  Downs  that  lay  broad  under  her  bows,  crowded 
with  shipping. 

The  hour  was  about  three.  A  small  trickle  of  tide  was 
working  eastward,  and  upon  that  we  floated  along,  more  helped 
by  the  fast  failing  run  of  the  stream  than  by  the  wind  ;  but 
there  would  be  dead  water  very  soon,  and  then  a  fast  gathering 
and  presently  a  rushing  set  to  the  westward,  and  I  heard  Cap- 
tain Spalding  whistle  low  as  he  stood  on  the  starboard  quarter, 
sending  his  gaze  aloft  over  the  canvas,  and  looking  at  the  sliip- 
ping  which  had  opened  upon  us  as  the  South  Foreland  drew 
away,  seeking  with  his  slow,  cold  blue  north-country  eye  for  a 
comfortable  spot  in  which  to  bring  up. 

The  coast  of  France  lay,  for  all  its  whiteness,  in  a  pale 
orange  streak  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea,  where  it  seemed  to 
hover  as  though  it  were  some  sunny  exhalation  in  process 
of  being  drawn  up  and  absorbed  by  the  sun  that  was  shining 
with  September  brightness  in  the  southwest  sky.  But  over 
that  smudge  of  orange-colored  land  slept  a  roll  of  massive 
white  clouds,  the  thunder-fashioned  heads  of  them  a  few  de- 
grees high,  and  clouds  of  a  like  kind  rested  in  vast  shapeless 
bulks  of  tufted  heaped-up  vapor — very  cordilleras  of  clouds — 
on  the  ice-smooth  edge  of  the  water  in  the  northeast.  The 
sea  streamed  in  thin  ripples  out  of  the  west  ;  and  upon  the 
light  movement  running  through  it  the  smaller  of  the  vessels  at 
anchor  in  the  Downs  were  lazily  flourishing  their  naked  spars. 
Captain  Spalding  called  to  me. 

"  I  shall  bring  up,  Bill,"  said  he  ;  for  Bill  was  the  familiar 
name  he  gave  me  when  we  were  alone,  though  it  was  always 
"  Mr.  Fielding"  in  the  hearing  of  the  men.  "  I  shall  bring 
up.  Bill,"  said  he.  "  I  don't  quite  make  out  yet  what  the 
weather's  going  to  i)rove.  See  those  clouds  ?  Who's  to  tell 
what  such    appearances    signify  in  these    waters?     But    the 


4  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

westerly  wind's  failing.  There's  nothing  coming  out  astern 
that's  going  to  help  us,"  and  he  looked  at  the  horizon  that 
way,     "  I  shall  bring  up." 

I  was  mighty  pleased  to  hear  this,  though  indeed  I  had  ex- 
pected it  :  for  now  might  I  hope  to  get  leave  to  pay  my  uncle, 
Captain  Joseph  Round,  a  visit  for  a  few  hours.  I  believe 
Spalding  saw  what  was  passing  in  my  mind  ;  he  gazed  at  the 
land  and  then  round  upon  the  sea,  and  fell  a-whistling  again 
in  a  small  note,  shaking  his  head.  I  reckoned  that  I  could 
not  do  better  than  ask  leave  at  once,  and  said  : 

"  As  you  intend  to  bring  up,  I  hope  you'll  allow  me  to  go 
ashore  for  a  few  hours  to  see  how  Uncle  Joe  does.  He'd  not 
forgive  me  for  failing  to  visit  him  should  he  hear  that  the 
Royal  Brunnvicker  had  anchored  almost  abreast  of  his 
dwelling-place,  and  that  I  had  missed  your  consent  simply  for 
not  seeking  it." 

He  sniffed  and  looked  suspiciously  about  him  awhile,  and 
answered  : 

"  Don't  ask  me  for  leave  until  the  anchor's  down  and  the 
ship's  snug,  and  the  weather's  put  on  some  such  a  face  as  a 
man  may  read." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,"  said  I. 

"  Bill,"  said  he,  "  go  forward  now  and  see  all  clear  for  bring- 
ing up.  There's  a  good  berth  some  cables'  length  past  that  fri- 
gate yonder — betwixt  her  and  the  pink  there." 

As  I  was  walking  forward  a  man  came  clumsily  sprawling 
over  the  side  on  to  the  deck.  His  face  was  purple  ;  he  wore 
a  hair  cap,  a  red  shawl  round  his  throat,  and  a  jersey.  I  peered 
over  the  rail  and  saw  a  small  Deal  galley  hooked  alongside,  with 
two  men  in  her. 

*'  Going  to  bring-up,  sir  ?  "  said  the  man. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered. 

"Where  are  ye  bound  to  ?" 

"  To  London." 

"Want  a  pilot?" 

"  You'll  find  the  captain  aft  there,"  said  I.  "  You  are  from 
Deal,  I  suppose  ?" 

"  Whoy,  yes." 

"  Have  you  ever  heard  of  Captain  Joseph  Round  ?  " 

"  Ever  heard  of  Cap'n  Joseph  Round  ?  "  echoed  the  man. 
"  Whoy,  ye  might  as  well  ask  me  if  I've  ever  heard  o'  Deal 
beach." 

"Is  he  living.?" 


(< 


/  ARRIVE  IN   THE  DOWNS.  5 

"There's  ne'er  a  fish  a-swimming  under  this  here  keel  that's 
more  living." 

"And  he's  well,  I  hope?" 

"  It's  going  to  be  a  bad  job  when  old  Cap'n  Round  falls  ill. 
Old  Cap'n  Round's  one  of  them  gents  as  never  knows  what  it  is 
to  have  so  much  as  a  spasm  ;  though  when  the  likes  of  them 
are  took  bad,  it's  common-loy  good-noight,"  said  he  with  an 
emphatic  nod. 

"  I  don't  reckon  your  services  will  be  required,"  said  I  ; 
but  I  may  be  wanting  to  go  ashore  after  we've  brought 
up,  and  you  can  keep  your  eye  upon  this  ship  if  you 
like." 

"  Thank  ye,  sir.  Loike  to  see  a  paper,  sir?"  and  here  the 
man  thrust  his  hand  under  his  jersey  and  pulled  down  a  tattered 
newspaper  a  few  weeks  old,  gloomy  with  beer  stains  and  thumb 
marks  ;  but  news,  even  a  few  weeks  old,  must  needs  be  very  fresh 
news  to  me  after  an  absence  of  two  years,  during  which  I  had 
caught  but  a  few  idle  and  ancient  whispers  of  what  was  hap- 
pening at  home.  I  thanked  the  man,  put  the  newspaper  in  my 
pocket,  meaning  to  look  at  it  when  I  should  have  leisure,  and 
stepped  on  to  the  forecastle,  where  I  stood  staring  about  me 
awaiting  orders  from  the  captain. 

The  scene  on  the  water  was  very  grand.  There  were,  pro- 
bably, two  hundred  sail  of  wind-bound  ships  at  anchor.  Every 
kind  of  rig,  I  think,  was  there,  from  the  tall  spars  of  the  British 
frigate  down  to  the  little,  squab,  apple-bowed,  wallowing  hoy. 
I  am  writing  this  in  the  year  1849.  A  great  change  in  shipping 
has  happened  since  1814.  You  have  men-of-war  noAv  with 
funnels  and  paddle-wheels  ;  steam  has  shortened  the  passage 
to  India  from  four  months  to  two  months  and  a  half,  which  is 
truly  wonderful.  Nay,  the  Atlantic  has  been  crossed  in  three 
weeks,  and  I  may  yet  live  to  see  the  day  when  the  run  from. 
Liverpool  to  New  York  shall  not  exceed  a  fortnight.  But  the 
change  since  1814  is  not  in  steam  only.  ]\Iany  are  the  structural 
alterations.  Ships  I  will  not  deny  have  gained  in  speed  and 
convenience;  but  they  have  lost  in  beauty.  They  are  no  longer 
romantic,  and  picturesque,  and  quaint.  No  ;  ships  are  no 
longer  the  gay,  the  shining,  the  castellated,  the  spacious-winged 
fabrics  of  my  young  days. 

Could  you  possess  the  memory  of  the  scene  of  Downs,  as  it 
showed  on  that  September  afternoon  from  the  forecastle  of  the 
Royal  Bninswicker,  you  would  share  in  the  affectionate  enthu- 
siasm, the  delight  and  the    regret  with  which  I  recur  to   it. 


6  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

How  am  I  to  express  the  light,  the  life,  the  color  of  the  picture  ; 
the  fiery  flashing  of  glossy,  low,  black,  wet  sides,  softly  stooping 
upon  the  silken  heave  of  the  sea  ;  the  gleam  of  storied  windows 
in  tall  sterns  ;  the  radiance  of  giltwork  on  the  quarter  galleries 
of  big  West  and  East  Indiamen,  straining  motionless  at  their 
hempen  cable  and  lifting  star-like  trucks  to  the  altitude  of  the 
mastheads  of  a  line-of-battle  ship  !  I  see  again  the  long,  low, 
piratic-looking  schooner.  Her  brand-new  metal  sheathing 
rises  like  a  strong  light,  flowing  upward  out  of  the  water  on 
which  she  rests  to  within  a  strake  or  two  of  her  covering  board. 
I  see  the  handsome  brig  with  a  rake  of  her  lower  masts  aft  and 
topgallant  masts  stayed  into  a  scarce  perceptible  curve  for- 
ward. There  is  a  short  grin  of  guns  along  the  waist  and  a 
brilliant  brass-piece  pivoted  on  her  forecastle  ;  she  is  a  trader 
bound  to  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  She  will  be  making  the 
Middle  Passage  anon  ;  but  she  will  take  care  to  furnish  no 
warrant  for  suspicion  while  she  flies  the  peaceful  commercial 
flag  on  this  side  the  Guinea  parallels.  And  I  see  also  the  snug 
old  snow,  of  a  beam  expanded  into  the  proportions  of  a  Dutch- 
man's stern,  huge  pieces  of  fresh  beef  slung  over  the  taffrail,  a 
boat  triced  up  to  the  forestay,  and  a  tiny  boy  swinging,  knife 
in'  hand,  at  the  mast. 

But  what  I  most  clearly  see  is  the  fine  English  frigate  motion- 
less in  the  heart  of  the  forest  of  shipping  that  stretches  away 
to  right  and  left  of  her.  With  what  exquisite  precision  are  her 
yards  braced  !  How  admirably  furled  is  every  sail,  and  how 
finely  managed  each  cone-shaped  bunt  !  There  is  no  superflu- 
ous rigging  to  thicken  her  gear.  Whatever  is  not  wanted  is 
removed.  Her  long  pennant  floats  languidly  down  the  top- 
gallant mast,  and  at  her  gaff-end  ripples  the  flag  of  Great 
Britain — the  fighting  flag  of  the  State  ;  the  flag  that,  by  the 
victory  at  Trafalgar  but  a  few  years  since,  was  hauled  to  the 
very  masthead  of  the  world,  with  such  stout  hearts  still  left,  in 
this  year  of  God  1814,  to  guard  the  billiards,  that  one  cannot 
recall  their  names  without  a  glow  of  pride  coming  into  the 
clieek  and  a  deeper  beat  entering  every  pulse. 

Ah  !  thought  I,  as  I  gazed  at  the  fine  frigate,  delighting  with 
appreciative  nautical  eye  in  the  hundred  points  of  exquisite 
equipment  which  express  the  perfect  discipline  of  the  sea  ;  ad- 
miring the  white  line  of  hammocks  which  crowned  the  grim, 
silent,  muzzled  tier  of  ordnance,  the  spot  of  red  that  denoted 
a  marine,  the  agility  of  some  fellows  in  her  forerigging — Heav- 
ens !  how  different  from  the  slow  and  cumbersome  sprawling 


/  ARRIVE  IN   THE  DOWNS.  7 

of  the  heavily-breeched  merchant  Jack  !  Ah  !  thought  I, 
while  I  kept  my  eyes  bent  in  admiration  upon  the  frigate,  who 
would  not  rather  be  the  first  lieutenant  of  such  a  craft  as  that 
than  the  first  mate  of  such  an  old  wagon  as  this  ?  And  yet  I 
don't  know,  thought  I,  keeping  my  eyes  fastened  upon  the  fri- 
gate. It  is  good  to  be  a  sailor  to  begin  with — best  sailor,  best 
man,  spite  of  uniforms  and  titles  and  the  color  of  the  flag  he 
serves  under.  And  which  service  produces  the  best  sailor,  I 
wonder  ?  And  here  I  told  over  to  myself  a  number  of  names 
of  seamen  who  had  risen  to  great,  and  some  of  them  to  glori- 
ous, eminence  in  the  Royal  Navy,  all  of  whom  had  served  in 
the  beginning  of  their  years  in  the  merchant  service  ;  and  then 
I  also  thought  to  myself,  who  sees  most  of  the  real  work — the 
hard,  heavy,  perilous  work  of  the  ocean — the  man-of-warsman 
or  the  merchantman  ?  And  I  could  not  but  smile  as  I  looked 
from  that  trim  and  lovely  frigate  to  our  own  sea-beaten  hooker, 
and  from  the  few  lively  hearties  of  the  man-of-war  visible  upon 
her  decks,  to  the  weather-stained,  round-backed  men  of  our 
crew,  who  were  hanging  about  waiting  for  the  captain  to  sing 
out  orders.     No,  I  could  not  help  smiling. 

But  while  I  smiled  a  volley  of  orders  was  suddenly  fired  off 
by  Captain  Spalding  from  the  quarter-deck,  and  in  an  instant 
I  was  singing  out  too,  and  the  crew  were  hauling  upon  the 
ropes,  shortening  sail. 

We  floated  to  the  spot  that  Spalding  had  singled  out  with 
his  eye,  the  Deal  boat  towing  alongside,  with  the  fellow  that 
had  boarded  us  inside  of  her,  for  the  captain  had  promptly 
motioned  him  overboard  on  his  stepping  aft,  and  then  the 
anchor  was  let  go,  and  the  sails  rolled  up.  It  was  just  then 
sunset.  The  frigate  fired  a  gun  ;  down  fluttered  her  ensign, 
and  a  sort  of  tremble  of  color  seemed  to  run  through  the  for- 
ests of  masts  as  every  vessel,  big  and  little,  in  response  to  the 
sullen  clap  of  thunder  from  the  frigate's  side,  hauled  down  her 
flag.  A  stark  calm  had  fallen,  heavy  masses  of  electric  cloud 
were  lifting  slowly  east  and  south,  but  they  were  to  my  mind  a 
summer  countenance.  Methought  I  had  used  the  sea  long 
enough  to  know  wind  by  my  sight  and  smell  without  hearing  or 
feeling  it  ;  and  I  was  cocksure  that  those  clouds  signified  noth- 
ing more  than  a  storm  or  two — as  landsmen  would  call  it — 
a  small  local  matter  of  lightning  and  tliunder,  with  no  air  to 
notice,  and  a  silent  night  of  stars  to  follow. 

When  I  had  attended  to  all  that  required  being  seen  to  by  me 
acting  as  the  mate  of  the  ship,  I  went  aft  to  Captain  Spalding, 


8  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

who  was  walking  the  deck  alone,  smoking  a  pipe,  and  said  to 
him,  "  It's  going  to  be  a  fine  night." 

"  I  believe  you  are  right,"  said  he,  gazing  into  the  dusk  of  the 
evening,  amid  which  the  near  shipping  looked  pale,  and  the 
more  distant  craft  dark  and  swollen. 

"  Are  you  going  ashore  ?  "  said  I. 

"No,"  he  answered.  "  There's  nothing  at  Deal  to  call  me 
ashore.     I  know  Deal  and  I  don't  love  it.  Bill." 

"I  should  like  to  shake  Uncle  Joe  by  the  hand,"  said  I. 

"  So  you  shall,"  said  he.  "  But  see  here,  my  lad,  you  must 
keep  a  bright  lookout  on  the  weather.  If  ever  you're  to  keep 
your  weather  eye  lifting  'tis  whilst  you  are  visiting  Uncle 
Joe,  for  should  there  come  a  slant  of  wind,  I'm  off!  there'll  be 
no  stopping  to  send  ashore  to  let  you  know  that  I'm  going." 

"  Right  you  are,"  cried  I  heartily,  "  a  bright  lookout  shall  be 
kept.  But  there'll  be  no  slant  of  wind  this  night — a  little 
thunder,  but  no  wind,"  said  I,  catching  as  I  spoke  the  dim 
sheen  of  distant  lightning  coming  and  going  in  a  winking  sort 
of  way  upon  the  mass  of  stuff  that  overhung  the  coast  of  France. 

I  stepped  below  into  my  cabin  to  change  my  clothes.  It 
will  not  be  supposed  that  my  slender  wardrobe  showed  very 
handsomely  after  two  years  of  hard  wear.  I  put  on  the  best 
garments  I  had,  a  shaggy  pilot  coat,  with  large  horn  buttons, 
and  a  velvet  waistcoat,  and  on  my  head  I  seated  a  round  hat 
with  a  small  quantity  of  ribbon  floating  down  abaft  it,  so  that 
on  the  whole  my  appearance  was  rather  that  of  a  respectable 
forecastle  hand  than  that  of  the  chief  mate  of  a  ship. 

Here  whilst  I  am  brushing  my  hair  before  a  bit  of  broken  look- 
ing glass  in  my  cabin  let  me  give  you  in  a  few  sentences  a  descrip- 
tion of  myself.  And  first  of  all,  having  been  born  in  the  year 
1790, 1  was  aged  twenty-four,  but  looked  a  man  of  thirty,  owing 
to  the  many  years  I  had  passed  at  sea  and  the  rough  life  of  the 
calling.  I  was  about  five  foot  eleven  in  height,  shouldered  and 
chested  in  proportion,  very  strong  on  my  legs,  which  were 
slightly  curved  into  a  kind  of  easy  bowling,  rolling  air  by  the 
ceaseless  slanting  of  decks  under  me  ;  in  short  taking  me  alto- 
gether you  would  fairly  have  termed  me  at  that  age  of  twenty- 
four  a  fine  young  fellow.  I  was  fair,  with  dark  reddish  hair  and 
dark  blue  eyes,  which  the  girls  sometimes  called  violet  ;  my 
cheeks  and  chin  were  smooth  shaven,  according  to  the  practice 
of  those  times  ;  my  teeth  very  good,  white,  and  even  ;  my  nose 
straight,  shapely,  and  proper,  but  in  my  throat  and  neck  I  was 
sometliing  heavy.     Such  was  I,  William  Fielding,  at  the  age  of 


/  ARRIVE   IN    THE   DOWNS.  9 

twenty-four.  I  write  without  vanity.  God  knows  it  is  too  late 
for  vanity  !  Suppose  a  ghost  capable  of  thinking  :  figure  it 
musing  upon  the  ashes  of  the  body  it  had  occupied — ashes 
moldering  and  infragrant  in  a  clay-rotted  coffin  twelve  foot 
deep. 

Even  as  such  a  ghost  might  muse,  so  write  I  of  my  youth. 

I  pocketed  the  boatman's  newspaper,  lest  the  cabin  servant, 
coming  into  my  cabin,  should  espy  and  carry  it  away.  And  I 
also  put  in  my  pocket  some  trifles  Avhich  I  had  purchased  as 
curios  at  one  or  another  of  the  ports  we  had  visited,  and  then 
going  on  deck  I  hailed  the  boat  that  had  been  keeping  close  to 
us,  but  that  was  now  lying  alongside  a  brig  some  little  dis- 
tance away,  and  bade  the  fellows  put  me  ashore. 

Sheet  lightning  was  playing  round  the  sea,  but  stars  in  plenty 
were  shining  over  our  mastheads  ;  the  water  was  very  smooth  ; 
I  did  not  feel  the  lightest  movement  of  air.  Forward  on  our 
ship  a  man  was  playing  on  the  fiddle,  and  a  group  of  seamen 
in  lounging  attitudes  were  listening  to  him.  I  also  heard  the 
voice  of  a  man  singing  on  the  vessel  lying  astern  of  us  :  but  all 
was  hushed  aboard  the  frigate  ;  the  white  lines  of  her  stowed 
canvas  ruled  the  stars  in  pallid  streaks  as  though  snow  lay 
upon  the  yards  ;  no  light  showed  aboard  of  her  ;  she  lay  grim, 
hushed,  big  in  the  dusk  with  a  suggestion  of  expectancy  in  the 
dominating  sheer  of  her  bows  and  in  the  hearkening  steeve 
of  her  bowsprit,  as  though  steed-like  she  was  listening  with 
cocked  ears  and  wide  nostrils  ;  and  yet,  dark  as  it  was,  you  would 
have  known  her  for  a  British  man-of-war,  spite  of  the  adjac- 
ency of  some  East  and  West  Indiamen  which  looked  in  the 
gloom  to  float  nearly  as  tall  as  she. 

"  It's  a  quarter  to  eight,  Bill,"  exclaimed  Captain  Spalding,  go- 
ing to  the  companion  way  and  standing  in  it,  while  he  spoke  to  me 
with  one  foot  on  the  ladder.  "  You  will  remember  to  keep 
your  weather  eye  lifting,  my  lad.  At  the  first  slant  I  get  my 
anchor  ;  so  stand  by.  Ye'd  better  ask  Uncle  Joe  to  keep  his 
window  open,  that  you  may  smell  what  you  can't  see  and  hear 
what  you  can't  smell.  My  respects  to  Uncle  Joe.  Tell  him 
if  I'm  detained  here  to-morrow  I  may  pay  him  a  visit,  unless 
he  has  a  mind  for  a  cut  of  Deal  beef  and  a  piece  of  ship's  bread 
down  in  my  cabin.  Anyhow,  my  respects  to  him,"  and  he  van- 
ished, 

I  dropped  into  the  mizzen  chains,  got  into  the  galley,  and 
was  rowed  ashore. 


lO  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

CHAPTER  II. 

I    VISIT    MY    UNCLE    AT    DEAL. 

The  boat  was  swept  to  the  beach,  and  I  sprang  on  the  shin- 
gle. I  paid  the  men  their  charges,  and  paused  a  moment  to 
realize  the  thrilling,  inscrutable,  memorajjle  sensation  which 
visits  a  man  who,  after  a  long  absence,  treads  his  native  soil  for 
the  first  time. 

After  the  chocolate  faces  of  the  West,  and  the  yellow  faces 
of  the  East,  and  the  copper-colored  faces  of  the  South;  after 
two  years  of  mosquitoes,  of  cathedral-like  forests,  of  spacious 
roasting  bays,  of  sharks  and  alligators,  and  league-broad  rivers, 
and  songless  birds  angelically  plumed,  and  endless  miles  of 
ocean;  after — but  I  should  need  a  volume  to  catalogue  all  that 
follows  this  after — after  the  Royal  Brunswicker,  in  a  word,  how 
exquisite  was  my  happiness  on  feeling  the  Deal  shingle  under 
my  foot;  how  rejoiced  was  I  to  be  in  a  land  of  white  men  and 
women,  who  spoke  my  own  native  tongue  with  its  jolly,  hearty, 
round,  old  Kentish  accent,  and  who  lived  in  a  kingdom  of 
roast  beef  and  Welsh  mutton  and  the  best  ales  which  were  ever 
brewed  in  this  world  ! 

While  I  paused,  full  of  happy  thought,  the  men  who  had 
brought  me  ashore  dragged  their  boat  up  the  shingle.  Two  or 
three  others  joined  them,  and  the  little  company  rushed  the 
boat  up  in  thunder.  They  then  went  rolling  silently  into  Beach 
Street  and  disappeared.  I  was  struck  by  the  absence  of  anima- 
tion fore  and  aft  the  beach.  Many  luggers  and  galley-punts 
lay  high  and  dry,  but  only  here  and  there  did  I  observe  the 
figure  of  a  man,  and,  as  well  as  I  could  make  out  in  the  evening 
dusk,  the  figure  was  commonly  that  of  an  old  man.  Here  and 
there  also  a  few  children  were  playing,  and  here  and  there  at  an 
open  door  stood  a  woman  gossiping  with  another.  But  though 
I  saw  lights  in  the  public  houses,  no  soundsof  singing,  of  voices 
growling  in  argument,  of  maudlin  calls,  such  as  had  been  familiar 
to  my  ear  in  old  times,  issued  from  the  doors  or  windows.  I 
was  surprised  by  this  apparent  lifelessness.  A  fleet  of  two 
hundred  sail  in  the  Downs  should  have  filled  the  little  town 
with  bustle  and  business,  with  riotous  sailors  and  clamorous 
wenches,  and  a  coming  and  going  of  boats. 

There  were  two  ways  by  which  my  uncle's  house  was  to  be 
reached — the  one  by  the  road,  the  other  by  the  sand  hills,  a 
desolate  waste  of  hummocky  sand,  stretching  for  some  miles 


/    VISIT  MY   UNCLE  AT  DEAL.  II 

from  the  north  end  of  Deal  toward  the  town  of  Sandwich  and 
the  River  Stour.  I  chose  the  road  because  I  wanted  to  taste 
the  country  air,  to  sniff  the  aromas  of  the  fields  and  the  hedges 
as  I  marched  along,  and  because  I  wished  to  put  as  much  dis- 
tance as  the  highway  permitted  between  me  and  the  sea.  The 
sky  overhead  was  clear ;  there  was  no  moon  as  yet,  but  the 
stars  shone  in  a  showering  of  light,  and  there  was  much  light- 
ning, which  glanced  to  the  zenith  and  fell  upon  the  white 
road  I  was  stepping  along  ;  and  now  and  again  I  caught  a  low 
hum  of  thunder — an  odd,  vibratory  note,  like  the  sound  of  an 
organ  played  in  a  church  and  heard  at  a  distance  on  a  still 
evening.  The  atmosphere  was  breathless,  and  I  was  mighty 
thankful  ;  but  sometimes  I  would  catch  myself  whistling  for 
an  easterly  wind,  for  I  knew  not  from  what  quarter  a  breeze 
might  come  on  such  a  still  night,  and  if  the  first  of  it  moved 
out  of  the  south  or  west,  then,  even  though  my  hands  should  be 
upon  the  knocker  of  my  uncle's  door,  I  must  make  a  bolt  of  it 
to  the  beach  or  lose  my  ship. 

My  Uncle  Joe's  house  was  a  sturdy,  tidy  structure  of  flint, 
massively  roofed  and  fitted  to  outweather  a  century  of  hurri- 
canes. He  had  designed  and  built  it  himself.  It  stood  at 
about  two  miles  from  Deal,  withdrawn  from  the  road,  snug, 
among  a  number  of  trees,  elm  and  oak.  Rooks  cawed  in 
those  trees,  and  their  black  nests  hung  in  them  ;  and  in 
winter  the  Channel  gales,  hoary  with  snow,  shrieked  through 
the  hissing  skeleton  branches  with  a  furious  noise  of  tempest, 
that  reminded  Uncle  Joe  of  being  hove-to  off  the  Horn. 

He  had  been  a  sailor.  Uncle  Joe  had  been  more  than  a 
sailor — he  had  been  pilot  and  smuggler.  He  had  commanded 
ships  of  eight  hundred  tons  burthen,  full  of  East  Indian  com- 
modities, and  he  had  commanded  luggers  of  twenty  tons  bur- 
then, deep  with  contraband  goods,  gunwale  flush  with  teas,  bran- 
dies, laces,  tobacco,  and  hoUands.  Uncle  Joe  had  been  a  good 
friend  to  me  when  I  was  a  lad  and  an  orplTan.  He  and  his 
wife  were  as  father  and  mother  to  me,  and  I  loved  them  both 
with  all  the  love  that  was  in  my  heart.  It  was  Uncle  Joe  who 
had  educated  me,  who  had  bred  me  to  the  sea,  who  saw  when 
I  started  on  a  voyage  that  I  embarked  with  plenty  of  clothes  in 
my  chest  and  plenty  of  money  in  my  pocket  ;  and  to  Uncle 
Joe's  influence  it  was  that  I  looked  for  a  valuable  East  or  West 
Indian  command  in  the  next  or  the  following  year. 

I  pulled  the  house-bell  and  hammered  with  the  knocker.  It 
was  dark  among   the  trees  ;    the   house  stood   black,  with   a 


12  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

dim  red  square  of  window,  where  some  crimson  curtains  shut 
out  the  lamplight.  Until  the  door  was  opened  I  listened  to  the 
weather.  All  was  hushed  save  the  thunder.  I  could  hear  the 
faint,  remote  beat  of  the  surf  upon  the  shingle,  that  was  all. 
Not  a  leaf  rustled  overhead  ;  but  though  there  was  not  more 
lightning,  the  thunder  was  more  frequent  down  in  the  south, 
as  though  the  clouds  over  France  were  blazing  bravely. 

A  middle-aged  man,  clad  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the 
longshoremen  of  those  days — clearly  a  decayed  or  retired 
mariner — pulled  open  the  door,  and,  as  this  was  done,  I  heard 
my  uncle  call  out  : 

''  Is  it  Bill  ?  " 

"  It  is,"  said  I,  delighted  to  hear  his  voice  ;  and  I  pushed 
past  the  sailor  who  held  open  the  door. 

My  uncle  came  out  of  the  parlor  into  the  passage,  looked 
up  and  down  me  a  moment  or  two,  and  extending  his  hand, 
greeted  me  thus  : 

"Well,  I'm  junked!  " 

He  then  shook  my  hand  at  least  a  minute,  and  bidding  me 
fling  my  cap  on  to  a  hall  chair,  he  dragged  me  into  the  parlor — 
the  snuggest  room  in  world,  as  I  have  often' thought ;  full  of 
good  paintings  of  ships  and  the  sea,  of  valuable  curiosities,  and 
fine  oak  furniture. 

Every  age  has  faces  of  its  own,  countenances  which  exactly 
fit  the  civilization  of  the  particular  time  they  belong  to.  It  is 
no  question  of  the  fashion  of  the  beard  or  the  wearing  of  the 
hair.  There  was  a  type  of  face  in  my  young  day  which  I  rarely 
behold  now,  and  I  dare  say  the  type  which  I  am  every  day 
seeing  will  be  as  extinct  fifty  years  hence  as  is  the  type  that  I  rec- 
ollect when  I  was  a  young  man.  How  is  this,  and  why  is  this  ? 
It  matters  not.  It  may  be  due  to  frequent  new  infusions  of 
blood  ;  to  the  modifications — do  not  call  it  the  progress — of 
intellect  ;  it  may  be  due — but  to  whatever  it  may  be  due  it  is 
true  ;  and  equally  true  it  is  that  my  Uncle  Joe  had  one  of 
those  faces — I  may  indeed  say  one  of  those  heads — which 
as  peculiarly  belong  to  their  time  as  the  fashions  of  gar- 
ments belong  to  theirs. 

He  was  clean  shaven  ;  his  temples  were  overshot  ;  they  set 
his  little  black  eyes  back  deep,  and  his  baldness,  co-operating 
with  these  tliatched  and  overhanging  eaves,  provided  him  with 
so  broad  a  surface  of  forehead  that  he  might  have  sat  for  the 
portrait  of  a  great  wit.  My  uncle  had  a  wide  and  firm  mouth  ; 
the  lips  were  slightly  blue  :  but  this  color  was  not  due  to  the 


/    VISIT  MY   UNCLE  AT  DEAL.  1 3 

use  of  ardent  spirits — oh,  no  !  A  teetotaler  he  was  not,  but  never 
would  the  mugs  he  emptied  have  changed  the  color  of  his  lips. 
They  were  blue  because  his  heart  was  not  strong,  and  the  few 
who  remember  him  know  that  he  died  of  heart  disease. 

He  was  the  jolliest,  heartiest  figure  of  a  man  that  a  convivial 
soul  could  yearn  to  embrace  ;  a  shape  molded  by  the  ocean,  as 
the  Deal  beach  pebble  is  molded  by  the  ceaseless  heave  of  the 
breakers.  He  thrust  me  into  a  capacious  armchair  and  stood 
on  rounded  shanks,  staring  at  me  with  his  face  flushed  and 
working  with  pleasure. 

"  And  how  are  you,  uncle  ?" 

"Well." 

"And  Aunt  Elizabeth?" 

"  Well." 

"And  Bessie?" 

"  Well." 

"  Where  are  they  ?  " 

"  Coming  downstairs.  " 

And  this  was  true  ;  a  moment  later  my  aunt  and  cousin 
entered — my  aunt  a  grave,  pale  gentlewoman  in  a  black  gown, 
black  being  her  only  wear  for  these  twenty  years  past,  ever 
since  the  death  of  her  only  son  at  the  age  of  four  ;  my  cousin 
a  handsome,  well-shaped  girl  of  seventeen  with  cherry-ripe 
lips  and  large  flashing  black  eyes,  and  abundance  of  dark  hair 
with  a  tinge  of  rusty  red  upon  it — they  entered,  I  say,  and  they 
had  fifty  questions  to  ask,  as  I  had.  But  in  half  an  hour's 
time  the  greetings  were  over,  and  I  was  sitting  at  a  most 
hospitably  laden  supper  table,  having  satisfied  myself,  by  going 
out  of  doors,  that  the  night  was  quiet,  that  there  was  still  no 
stir  of  wind,  and  that  nothing  more  was  happening  round- 
about than  a  vivid  play  of  violet  lightning  low  down  in  the 
sky,  with  frequent  cracklings  and  groanings  of  distant  thunder. 

I  was  not  surprised  that  Uncle  Joe  and  his  family  had  not 
heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  Royal  Brimswicker  in  the  Downs  ; 
though  I  had  been  somewhat  astonished  by  his  guessing  it  was 
I,  when  I  knocked. 

"  So  you're  chief  mate  of  the  ship  ?  "  he  exclaimed. 

"lam." 

"  How  has  Spalding  used  ye.  Bill  ?  " 

"  Handsomely.  As  a  father.  I  shall  love  Spalding  till  the 
end  of  my  days,  and  until  I  get  command  I  shall  never  wish 
to  go  afloat  with  another  man." 

"  Well,  "  said  my  uncle,  "  it  is  not  every  skipper,  as  you  know, 


14  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN.' 

that  would  allow  his  first  mate  a  run  ashore,  himself  waiting 
aboard  the  while  for  a  slant  of  wind  to  get  his  anchor.  No. 
Don't  let  us  forget  the  weather.  Bess,  my  daisy,  there's  no 
call  for  Bill  to  keep  all  on  looking  out  o'  doors  ;  get  ye  forth 
now  and  again  and  report  any  sigh  of  wind  you  may  hear.  I'll 
find  out  its  quarter,  and  Bill  shall  not  fail  his  captain." 

"  What's  the  news  ?    "  said  I. 

"  News  enough,"  he  said  ;  and  I  sat  and  listened  to  news, 
much  of  which  was  extraordinary. 

I  heard  of  the  Yankees  thrashing  us  by  land  and  sea,  of 
fierce  and  desperate  fighting  on  the  Canadian  lakes,  of  the 
landing  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  in  Holland,  and  of  his  being 
proclaimed  King  of  the  United  Netherlands,  of  Murat  proving 
a  renegade  and  suing  for  peace  with  this  country,  of  gallant 
seafights  down  Toulon  way  and  in  the  Adriatic  and  elsewhere, 
of  the  investment  of  Bayonne  by  the  British  army,  of  the 
entry  of  the  Allies  into  Paris,  of  peace  between  England  and 
France,  of  Louis  XVIII.  in  the  room  of  Bonaparte,  and — 
which  almost  took  my  breath  away — of  Bonaparte  himself  at 
Elba,  dethroned,  his  talons  pared,  his  teeth  drawn,  but  with 
his  head  still  on  his  shoulders,  and  in  full  possession  of  his 
bloody  reason. 

"  And  so  he  was  quietly  shipped  to  Porto  Ferraro,"  said  I,  "  in 
a  comfortable  thirty-eight  gun  British  frigate,  instead  of  being 
hanged  at  the  yardarm  of  that  same  craft." 

"  He  is  too  splendid  a  character  to  hang,"  said  my  aunt 
mildly. 

"Junked  if  I  wouldn't  make  dog's  meat  of  him,"  cried 
Uncle  Joe. 

"  They  should  have  hanged  him,"  said  I. 

"They  have  hanged  a  better  man  instead,"  exclaimed  my 
cousin  Bess. 

"A  king?" 

"No,  Bill,  he  was  not  a  king,"  said  my  uncle,  "he  was  the 
master  of  a  ship  and  part  owner,  a  young  chap,  too — a  mighty 
pity.  Tliey  had  him  up  at  Sandwich  on  a  charge  of  casting 
the  vessel  away.  He  was  found  guilty  and  hanged,  and  he's 
hanging  now." 

"  Where  does  he  hang  ?"  said  I. 

"  Down  on  the  Sandhills." 

"A  time  will  come,  I  hope,"  said  I,  "when  this  beastly  trick 
of  beaconing  the  sea-coast,  and  the  river's  bank,  and  the  high- 
ways with  gibbets  will  have  been  mended.     Spalding  was  tell- 


/    VISIT  MY    UNCLE   AT  DEAL.  1$ 

ing  me  that  up  in  his  part  of  the  country  traveling  has  grown 
twice  as  far  as  it  used  to  be,  by  the  gibbets  forcing  people  to 
go  out  of  their  way  to  avoid  the  sight  of  them." 

"I  am  sorry  for  the  hanged  man,"  said  my  uncle,  "but  will- 
fully casting  a  ship  away.  Bill,  is  a  fearful  thing — so  fearful 
that  the  gibbet  at  which  I'd  dangle  the  fellow  that  did  it  should 
be  as  high  as  the  royal  mast  head  of  the  craft  he  foundered  ! 
What  d'ye  think  of  that  drop  of  rum?" 

"  Is  that  wind  ?  "  said  my  aunt. 

"  Thunder,"  said  Uncle  Joe. 

Bess  went  to  the  house  door  :  I  followed.  We  stood  listen- 
ing ;  the  noise  was  thunder  ;  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air,  but 
all  the  stars  were  gone.  A  sort  of  film  of  storm  had  drawn 
over  them,  and  I  guessed  I  was  in  for  a  drenching  walk  to  the 
beach.  But  Lord  !  rain  to  a  man  whose  lifetime  is  spent  in 
the  eye  of  the  weather  ! 

"  Bess,"  said  I,  "you've  grown  a  fine  girl,  d'ye  know." 

"No  compliments,  William,  dear.  I  am  going  to  be 
inarried." 

"  If  I  had  known  that  before  !  "  said  I,  kissing  her  now  for 
the  first  time,  for  congratulation. 

This  was  fresh  news,  and  we  talked  about  the  coming  son- 
in-law,  who,  to  be  sure,  must  be  in  the  seafaring  line  too,  for 
once  inject  salt  water  into  the  veins  of  a  family,  and  it  takes 
a  power  of  posterity  to  flush  the  pipes  clear. 

"  What's  wrong  with  Deal  town  ?  "  said  L  "  Is  it  the 
neighborhood  of  the  gibbet  that  damps  the  spirits  of  the 
place  ? " 

"  What  d'ye  mean,  Bill  ?  " 

"  Why,  there's  nothing  stirring  along  the  beach.  There  are 
some  two  hundred  craft  off  the  town  and  the  bench  is  as 
though  it  were  in  mourning  ;  your  luggers  lie  grim  as  a  row  of 
coffins,  nothing  moving  amongst  them  but  some  shadow  of  old 
age — like  old  Jimmy  Files,  for  example." 

"It'll  be  the  press,"  said  my  aunt, 

"Ho  !  "  said  I.     "  Is  the  king  short-handed  once  more?" 

"  There's  not  only  what's  called  deficiency,  but  what's  termed 
disaffection,"  said  my  uncle.  "  The  vote  this  year  was  for  a 
hundred  and  forty  thousand  Johnnys  and  Joeys.  They  vote, 
and  Jack  says  be  d — d  to  ye." 

"Any  men  nabbed  out  of  Deal  ?"  said  I. 

"  Five  boatmen  last  month,"  answered  Uncle  Joe.  "  I  should 
think  they'd  be  glad   to  set  them  ashore   wherever  they   be. 


l6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Put  a  pressed  Deal  man  into  your  forecastle  and  then  fire  your 
magazine." 

"  I'm  a  mate  ;  they'll  not  take  me,"  said  I. 

"  There's  been  no  press  for  some  days  that  I've  heard  of," 
said  my  uncle,  "but  you'd  better  get  to  the  beach  by  way  of 
the  sand  hills.  The  Johnnys  don't  hunt  rabbits.  They  beat 
the  alleys  out  of  Beach  Street,  and  you  hear  of  them  Walmer 
way  and  down  by  the  Dockyard." 

He  sat  deep  in  an  armchair,  smoking  a  long  clay  pipe.  His 
face  shone,  his  little  shining  eyes  followed  the  smoke  that  rose 
from  his  lips.  His  posture,  his  appearance  as  he  sat  with  a 
stout  leg  across  his  knee  and  a  shining  silver  buckle  on  his 
square-toed  shoe,  seemed  to  say  :  "What  I've  got  is  mine,  and 
what  I've  got  is  enough.  The  Lord  is  good  ;  and  good  too  is 
this  house  and  all  that's  in  it."  A  small  fire  burnt  briskly  in 
the  grate,  and  on  the  hob  was  a  bright  copper  kettle  with  steam 
shooting  from  its  split  lip.  The  dance  of  the  fire-flames  ran 
feeble  shadows  through  the  steady  radiance  of  the  oil  lamp, 
and  the  colors  of  the  room  were  made  warmer  and  richer  by 
the  delicate  twinkling.  My  aunt  knitted,  and  cousin  Bess, 
with  her  chin  in  her  hand,  listened  to  the  conversation.  Upon 
the  table  was  a  large  silver  tray  with  glasses,  decanters  of  rum 
and  brandy,  and  silver  bowl  and  ladle  for  the  brewing  of  punch. 
These  things  supplied  a  completing  and  satisfying  detail  of 
liberal  and  handsome  comfort.  What  happiness,  thought  I,  to 
settle  down  ashore  in  such  a  house  as  this,  with  as  many 
thousands  as  would  keep  me  going  just  as  Uncle  Joe  is  kept 
going  !  When  are  those  fine  times  coming  for  me  ?  thought  I  ; 
and  there  now  happening  a  pause  in  the  talk,  whilst  my  uncle, 
lifting  the  kettle  off  the  hob,  brewed  with  skillful  hand  a  small 
quantity  of  rum  punch — the  most  fragrant  and  supporting  of 
hot  drinks,  and  loved  a  great  deal  too  well  in  my  time  by 
skippers  and  mates  whose  conscience  blushed  only  in  their 
noses — I  pulled  from  my  pocket  the  boatman's  newspaper,  and 
turned  the  sheet  about,  not  reckoning,  however,  upon  now 
coming  across  anything  fresh. 

"  What  have  you  there,  William  ?  "  said  Bess. 

"A  north  country  rag,"  said  I,  "  some  weeks  old.  The  gift 
of  a  Geordie,  no  doubt,  to  the  waterman  who  gave  it  to  me." 

Such  news  as  it  contained  related  largely  to  shipping. 
There  was  a  column  of  items  of  maritime  intelligence.  My 
eye  naturally  dwelt  upon  this  column,  and  I  read  some  passages 
aloud.     At  last  I  came  to  this  paragraph  : 


/    VISIT  MY    UNCLE  AT  DEAL.  1 7 

A  correspondent  informs  us  that  the  brig  Black  Watch,  295  tons,  built 
in  1806,  by  Mr.  W.  Dixon,  of  Sunderland,  is  fitting  out  in  the  Thames  pre- 
sumably for  a  privateering  cruise.  She  is  said  to  have  been  purchased  by  a 
gentleman  of  Amsterdam,  but  the  person  who  goes  in  command  of  her  is  Cap- 
tain Michael  Greaves,  who  belongs  to  this  town,  If  the  owner  be  a  Dutch- 
man, as  rumor  asserts,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  letters  of  marque  will  be 
issued. 

"  What  ^o you  say,  uncle?"  said  I. 

"  I  cannot  tell.  I  know  nothing  about  letters  of  marque, 
Bill.  If  she's  furrin'-owned  her  capers  can't  be  countenanced 
by  our  State,  can  'ey  ? " 

"No,"  said  I. 

I  looked  again  at  the  paragraph. 

"Michael  Greaves — Michael  Greaves."  I  seemed  to  know 
the  name.  I  pondered,  found  I  could  get  nothing  out  of 
memory,  and  turned  my  eye  upon  another  part  of  the  paper. 

"  Here  is  an  account  of  the  casting  away  of  the  Willia?n  and 

ane. 

"  That's  the  ship  for  whose  murder  her  skipper  is  swinging  on 
the  sand  hills,"  said  my  uncle. 

I  read  the  story — an  old-world  story,  not  infrequently  re- 
peated since.  Do  not  we  know  it.  Jack  ?  A  ship  mysteriously 
leaks  ;  the  carpenter  sounds  the  well,  and  his  eyes  are  damned 
by  the  captain  for  hinting  at  a  started  butt  ;  all  hands  sweat  at 
the  pumps  ;  the  water  gains  ;  the  mate  thinks  the  leak  is  in 
the  fore-peak,  and  the  master,  who  is  intoxicated,  stutters  with 
blasphemies  that  the  mischief  is  in  the  after-hold  ;  the  people 
leave  in  the  boats  :  the  derelict  washes  ashore,  and  is  found 
with  four  auger  holes  in  her  bottom  ;  the  master  is  collared 
and  charged.  At  the  trial  the  carpenter  states  that  the  master 
borrowed"  an  auger  from  him  and  forgot  to  return  it.  Master 
is  damned  by  the  evidence  of  the  mate  and  a  number  of  sea- 
men ;  is  condemned  to  be  hanged  by  the  neck,  and  is  turned 
off  on  the  Deal  sand  hills  protesting  his  innocence. 

"Why  the  Deal  sand  hills  ?"  said  I. 

"  As  a  warning  to  the  coast,"  answered  my  uncle.  "  And  look 
again  at  the  newspaper.  The  scuttling  job  was  managed  right 
abreast  of  these  parts,  behind  the  Good'ns.  Oh,  it's  justice — 
it's  justice  !  "  and  he  handed  me  a  glass  of  punch. 

"  Is  it  wind  or  rain  ?  "  exclaimed  my  aunt,  lifting  her  fore- 
finger. 

"  Rain,"  said  my  uncle — "  a  thunder  squall.     Ha  !  " 

A  sharp  boom  of  thunder  came  from  the  direction  of  the 
sea.     'Twas  like  a  ship  testing  her  distance  by  throwing  a  shot. 


1 8  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

You  found  yourself  hearkening  for  the  broadside  to  follow.  I 
looked  at  the  clock  and  again  went  to  the  house  door.  The 
earth  was  sobbing  and  smoking  under  a  fall  of  rain  that  came 
down  straight  like  harp  strings  ;  the  lightning  touched  each 
liquid  line  into  blue  crystal  ;  the  trees  hissed  to  the  deluge, 
and  I  stood  listening  for  wind,  but  there  was  none. 

"  I'll  wait  till  this  shower  thins,"  said  I,  ''and  then  be  off," 

"  I'll  be  a  wet  walk,  William,  I  fear,"  said  my  aunt. 

"  It's  a  wet  life  all  round,  with  us  sailors,"  said  I,  extending 
my  tumbler  for  another  ladleful  of  punch,  in  obedience  to  an 
eloquent  gesture  on  the  part  of  my  uncle. 

It  was  midnight  before  they  would  let  me  go,  and  still  there 
was  no  wind.  I  was  well  primed  with  grog,  and  felt  light  and 
jolly  ;  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  spend  a  month  of  my  stay 
ashore  dov/nhere  at  Sandwich  ;  had  listened  with  a  countenance 
lighted  up  with  smiles  to  Uncle  Joe's  "  I'll  warrant  ye  it  shall 
go  hard  if  I  don't  help  you  into  command  next  year,  my  lad," 
pronounced  with  one  eye  closed,  the  other  eye  humid,  and  his 
face  awork  with  punch  and  benevolence  ;  then  came  some 
hearty  hand-shaking,  some  still  heartier  "  God-bless-ye's,"  and 
there  being  a  pause  outside,  forth.  I  walked,  stepping  high  and 
something  dancingly,  the  collar  of  my  pea-coat  to  my  ears,  the 
round  brim  of  my  hat  turned  down  to  clear  the  scuppers  for 
the  next  downpour. 

CHAPTER   III. 

THE    GIBBET. 

There  was  plenty  of  lightning,  some  of  the  flashes  near,  and 
the  sky  overhead  was  soot.  But  the  thunder  was  not  constant. 
It  growled  at  intervals  afar,  now  and  again  burst  at  the  distance 
of  a  mile,  but  without  tropic  noise.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the 
electric  mess  was  silting  away  north,  and  that  there  would 
come  a  clear  sky  in  the  south  presently,  with  a  breeze  from 
that  quarter. 

This  being  my  notion,  I  stepped  out  vigorously,  with  a  punch- 
inspired  lift  of  my  feet,  as  I  made  for  the  sand  hills,  singing  a 
jolly  sailor's  song  as  I  marched,  but  not  thinking  of  the  words 
I  sang.  No,  nothing  while  I  marched  and  sang  aloud  could 
I  think  of  but  the  snug  and  fragrant  parlor  I  had  quitted  and 
Uncle  Joe's  hearty  reception  and  his  promises. 

When  I  was  got  upon  the  sand  hills  I  wished  I  had  stuck  to 
the  road.     It  was  the  hills,  not  the  sand,  that  bothered  me.     I 


THE   GIBBET.  1 9 

soared  and  sank  as  I  went,  and  presently  my  legs  took  a  feel- 
ing of  twist  in  them,  as  though  they  had  been  corkscrews  ;  but 
I  pushed  on  stoutly,  making  a  straight  course  for  the  sea,  where 
the  lightning  would  give  me  a  frequent  sight  of  the  scene  of 
Downs  ;  where  I  should  be  able  to  taste  the  first  of  the  air 
that  blew  and  hit  its  quarter  to  a  point ;  and  where,  best  of  all, 
the  sand  hardened  into  beach. 

But  oh,  my  God,  now,  as  I  walked  along!  think!  it  flung 
out  of  the  darkness  within  pistol  shot,  clear  in  the  wild  blue  of 
a  flash  of  lightning.  It  stood  right  in  front  of  me.  I  was 
walking  straight  for  it  ;  I  should  have  seen  it,  without  the  help 
of  lighting,  in  a  few  more  strides  ;  the  sand  went  away  in  a 
billowy  glimmer  to  the  wash  of  the  black  water,  and  a  kind  of 
light  of  its  own  came  up  out  of  it,  in  which  the  thing  would 
have  shown,  had  I  advanced  a  few  paces. 

It  was  a  gibbet  with  a  man  hanging  at  the  end  of  the  beam, 
his  head  coming,  according  to  the  picture  printed  upon  my 
vision  by  that  flash  of  lightning,  within  a  hand  breadth  of  the 
piece  of  timber  he  dangled  at,  whence  I  guessed,  with  the 
velocity  of  thought,  that  he  had  been  cut  down  and  then  tucked 
up  afresh  in  irons  or  chains. 

I  came  to  a  stand  as  though  I  had  been  shot,  waiting  for 
another  glance  of  lightning  to  reveal  the  ghastly  object  afresh. 
I  had  forgotten  all  about  this  gibbet.  Had  a  thought  of  the 
horror  entered  my  head — that  head  which  had  been  too  full  of 
the  fumes  of  rum  punch  to  yield  space  for  any  but  the  cheeriest, 
airiest  imaginations — I  should  have  given  these  sand  hills  the 
widest  berth  which  the  main  road  provided.  I  was  no  coward  ; 
but.  Lord  !  to  witness  such  a  sight  by  a  stroke  of  lightning  !  I 
say  it  was  as  unexpected  a  thing  to  my  mood,  at  that  moment 
of  its  revelation  by  lightning,  asthougli  not  a  word  had  been  said 
about  it  at  my  uncle's,  and  as  though  I  had  entered  the  sand 
hills  absolutely  ignorant  that  a  man  hung  in  chains  on  a  gibbet, 
within  shy  of  a  stone  from  the  water. 

This  ignorance  it  was  that  dyed  the  memorable  rencounter 
to  a  complexion  of  darkest  horror  to  every  faculty  that  I  could 
collect.  While  I  paused,  breathing  very  short,  hearing  no 
sound  but  the  thunder  and  the  pitting  of  the  rain  on  the  sand, 
and  the  whisper  of  the  surf  along  the  beach,  a  vivid  stroke  of 
lightning  flashed  up  the  gibbet ;  there  was  an  explosion  aloft  ; 
rain  fell  with  a  sudden  fury,  and  the  hail  so  drummed  upon 
my  hat  that  I  lost  the  noise  of  the  surf  in  the  sound.  A  num- 
ber of  flashes  followed  in  quick  succession,  and  by  the  dazzle 


26  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN' ! 

I  beheld  the  gibbet  and  its  ghastly  burden  as  clearly  as  though 
the  sun  was  in  the  sky. 

The  figure  hung  in  chains  ;  the  bight  of  the  chain  passed 
under  the  fork  betwixt  the  thighs,  and  a  link  on  either  hand 
led  through  an  iron  collar,  which  clasped  the  neck  of  the  body, 
the  head  lolling  over  and  looking  sideways  down,  and  the  two 
ends  of  the  chain  met  in  a  ring,  held  by  a  hook,  secured  by  a 
nut  on  top  of  the  timber  projection.  But  what  was  that  at  the 
foot  of  the  gibbet?  I  believed,  at  first,  that  it  was  a  strength- 
ening piece,  a  big  block  or  pile  of  wood  designed  to  join  and 
secure  the  bare,  black,  horrible  post  from  which  the  beam 
pointed  like  some  frightful  spirit  finger,  seaward,  as  though 
death's  skeleton  arm  held  up  a  dead  man  to  the  storm. 

This  was  my  belief.  I  was  now  fascinated  and  stood 
gazing,  watching  the  fearful  thing  as  it  came  and  went  with 
the  lightning. 

Do  you  know  those  Deal  sand  hills  ?  A  desolate,  dreary 
waste  they  are,  on  the  brightest  of  summer  mornings,  when  the 
lark's  song  falls  like  an  echo  from  the  sky,  when  the  pale  and 
furry  shadows  of  rabbits  blend  with  the  sand,  till  they  look 
mere  eyes  against  what  they  watch  you  from,  when  the  flavor 
of  seaweed  is  shrewd  in  the  smell  of  the  warm  and  fragrant 
country.  But  visit  them  at  midnight,  stand  alone  in  the  heart 
of  the  solitude  of  them  and  realize  then — but,  no,  not  even  then 
could  you  realize — the  unutterably  tragic  significance  imported 
into  those  dim  heaps  of  faintness,  dying  out  at  a  short  distance 
in  the  blackness,  by  such  a  gibbet  and  such  a  corpse  as  I  had 
lighted  upon,  as  I  now  stood  watching  by  the  flash  and  play  of 
near  and  distant  lightning. 

But  what  was  that  at  the  foot  of  the  gibbet?  I  took  a  few 
steps,  and  the  object  that  I  had  supposed  to  be  a  balk  of  timber, 
serving  as  a  base-piece,  arose.  It  was  a  woman.  I  was  near 
enough  now  to  see  her  without  the  help  of  the  lightning.  The 
glimmering  sand  yielded  sufificient  light,  so  close  had  I  ap- 
proached the  gibbet.  She  was  a  tall  woman,  dressed  in  black, 
and  her  face  in  the  black  frame  of  her  bonnet,  that  was  thick- 
ened by  a  wet  veil,  showed  as  white  as  though  the  light  of  the 
moon  lay  upon  it.  I  say  again  that  I  am  no  coward,  but  I  own 
that  when  that  balk  of  timber,  as  I  had  supposed  the  thing  to 
be,  arose  and  fashioned  itself,  hard  by  the  figure  of  the  hang- 
ing dead  man,  into  the  shape  of  a  tall  woman,  ghastly  white  of 
face,  nothing  but  horror  and  consternation  prevented  me  from 
bolting  at  full  speed.     I  was  too  terrified  to  run.     My  knees 


THE    GIBBET.  2£ 

seemed  to  give  way  under  me.     All  the  good  of  the  rum  punch 
was  gone  out  of  ray  head. 

The  woman  approached  me  slowly,  and  halted  at  a  little 
distance.  There  might  have  been  two  yards  between  us  and 
five  between  me  and  the  gibbet. 

"What  have  you  come  to  do?"  she  exclaimed  in  a  voice 
that  sounded  raw — I  can  find  no  other  word  to  express  the 
noise  of  her  speech — with  famine,  fatigue,  fever  ;  for  these 
things  I  heard  in  her  voice. 

"I  have  come  to  do  nothing ;  I  am  going  to  Deal,"  I  an- 
swered, and  I  made  a  step. 

"  Stop  !  I  am  the  mother  of  that  dead  man.  Show  me  how 
to  take  him  down.  I  cannot  reach  his  feet  with  my  hands. 
You  are  tall,  and  strong  and  hearty,  and  can  unhook  him. 
For  God's  sake,  take  him  down  and  give  him  to  me,  sir." 

"  His  mother  ! "  cried  I,  finding  spirit,  on  a  sudden,  in  the 
woman's  speech  and  dreadful  avowal  ;  "  God  help  thee  !  But 
it  is  not  a  thing  for  me  to  meddle  with." 

"  He  was  my  son,  he  was  innocent  and  he  has  been  mur- 
dered. He  must  not  be  left  up  there,  sir.  Take  him  down,  and 
give  him  to  me  who  am  his  mother,  and  who  will  bury  him." 

"  It  is  not  a  thing  for  me  to  meddle  with,"  I  repeated,  look- 
ing at  the  body,  and  all  this  time  it  was  lightning  sharply,  and 
the  thunder  was  frequent  and  heavy,  and  it  rained  pitilessly. 
"  It  would  need  a  ladder  to  unhook  him,  and  suppose  you  had 
him,  what  then  ?  Where  is  his  grave  ?  Would  you  dig  it  here  ? 
And  with  what  would  you  dig  it  ?  And  if  you  buried  him  here,  they 
would  have  him  up  again  and  hook  him  up  again." 

"  Oh,  sir,  take  him  down,  give  him  to  me,"  she  cried  in  a 
voice  that  would  have  been  a  shriek  but  for  her  weakness. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  here  ?  "  said  I,  moving  so  as  to 
enable  me  to  confront  her,  and  yet  have  my  back  on  the  gibbet, 
for  the  end  of  my  tongue  seemed  to  stick  like  a  point  of  steel 
into  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  every  time  the  lightning  flashed  up 
the  swinging  figure  and  I  saw  it. 

"  I  was  here  before  it  fell  dark,"  she  answered. 

"  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  Harwich." 

"  You  have  not  walked  from  Harwich  ?  " 

"  I  came  by  water  to  Margate,  and  have  walked  from  Mar- 
gate. Oh,  take  him  down — oh,  take  him  down  !  "  she  cried, 
stretching  her  arms  up  at  the  body.  "  Think  of  him  helpless 
there  !     Jimmy,  my  Jimmy  !     He  is  innocent — he  is  a  mur- 


2  2  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

dered  man  !  "  she  sobbed  ;  and  then  continued^  speaking  swiftly, 
and  drawing  closer  to  me  :  "  He  was  my  only  son.  His  wife 
does  not  come  to  him.  Oh,  my  Jim,  mother  is  with  thee,  thy 
poor  old  mother  is  with  thee,  and  will  not  leave  thee.  Oh, 
kind,  dear  Christian  sir" — and  she  extended  her  hand  and 
put  it  upon  the  sleeve  of  my  coat — "  take  him  down  and  help 
me  to  bury  him,  and  the  God  of  Heaven,  the  friend  of  the 
widow,  shall  bless  thee,  and  I  will  watch,  but  at  a  distance 
from  his  grave,  until  there  shall  be  no  fear  of  his  body  being 
found." 

"  I  can  do  nothing,"  said  I.  "  If  I  had  the  will,  I  have  not 
the  means.  I  should  need  a  ladder,  and  we  should  need  a 
spade,  and  we  have  neither.  Come  you  along  with  me  to  Deal ; 
come  you  away  out  of  this  wet  and  from  this  sight.  You  have 
little  strength.  If  you  linger  here,  you'll  die.  I  will  get  you 
housed  for  the  night,  and,"  cried  I,  raising  my  voice,  that  she 
might  hear  me  above  a  sudden  roll  of  thunder,  "  if  my  ship 
does  not  sail  out  of  the  Downs  to-morrow,  I  may  so  work  it  for 
you  as  to  get  your  son's  body  unhooked,  and  removed,  and 
buried,  where  it  will  not  be  found.  Come  away  from  this," 
and  I  grasped  her  soaking  sleeve. 

Now  at  this  instant,  there  happened  that  which  makes  this 
experience  the  most  awful  and  astonishing  of  any  that  I  have 
encountered,  in  a  life  that,  Heaven  knows,  has  not  been  want- 
ing in  adventure.  I  am  not  a  believer  in  latter-day  miracles  ; 
I  am  not  a  fool — not  that  I  would  quarrel  with  a  man  for  be- 
lieving in  latter-day  miracles.  We  are  all  locked  up  in  a  dark 
room,  and  I  blame  no  man  for  believing  that  he — and  perhaps 
he  only — knows  the  way  out.  I  do  not  believe  in  latter-day 
miracles  ;  but  I  believe  in  the  finger  of  God.  I  believe  that 
often  He  will  answer  the  cry  of  the  broken  heart.  This  is 
what  now  happened,  and  you  may  credit  my  relation  or  not, 
as  you  please. 

I  have  said  that  I  grasped  the  woman's  soaking  sleeve,  intend- 
ing to  draw  her  away  from  the  gibbet ;  and  it  was  at  that  mo- 
ment that  the  body  and  the  gibbet  were  struck  by  lightning; 
they  were  clothed  with  a  flash  of  sunbriglit  flame.  In  the  same 
instant  of  the  flash,  there  was  a  burst  and  shock  of  thunder, 
the  most  deafening  and  frightful  explosion  I  have  ever  heard. 
The  motionless  atmosphere  was  thick,  sickening,  choking 
with  the  smell  of  sulphur.  I  was  hurled  backward,  but  not  so 
as  to  fall ;  it  was  as  though  I  had  been  struck  by  the  wind  of  a 
cannon-ball.     For  some  time  the  blackness  stood  like  a  wall 


THE    GIBBET.  23 

against  my  vision  ;  more  lightning  there  was  at  that  time,  one 
or  two  of  the  flashes  tolerably  vivid,  but  the  play  on  my  balls 
of  sight,  temporarily  blinded,  glanced  dim  as  sheet  lightning 
when  it  winks  palely  past  the  rim  of  the  sea. 

Presently  I  could  see.  I  looked  for  the  woman,  scarce  know- 
ing whether  I  might  behold  her  dead  in  a  heap  on  the  sand. 
No  ;  she  stood  at  a  little  distance  from  me.  Like  me,  she  was 
unable  to  get  her  sight.  She  stood  with  her  white  face  turned 
toward  Sandwich — that  is  to  say,  away  from  the  gibbet  ;  but 
even  as  I  regained  my  vision  so  hers  returned  to  her.  She 
looked  around,  uttered  an  extraordinary  cry,  and,  in  a  moment, 
was  under  the  gibbet,  kneeling,  fondling,  clasping,  hugging, 
wildly  talking  to  the  chained  and  lifeless  figure,  whose  metal 
fastening  had  been  sheared  through  by  the  burning  edge  of  the 
terrific  scythe  of  fire  ! 

Yes;  the  eye  or  the  hook  by  which  the  corpse  had  hung  had 
been  melted,  and  there  lay  the  body,  ghastly  in  its  chains,  but 
how  much  ghastlier  had  there  been  light  to  yield  a  full  revela- 
tion of  feature  and  of  such  injury  as  the  stroke  of  flame  may 
have  dealt  it  !  There  it  lay  in  its  mother's  arms  !  She  held  its 
head  with  the  iron  collar  about  its  neck  to  her  breast ;  she  rocked 
it  ;  she  talked  to  it  ;  she  blessed  God  for  giving  her  son  to  her. 

The  rain  ceased,  and  over  the  sea  the  black  dye  of  tempest 
thinned,  a  sure  sign  of  approaching  wind,  driving  the  heavy, 
loose  wings  of  vapor  before  it.  In  another  minute  I  felt  a 
draught  of  air.  It  was  out  of  the  south.  Standing  on  those 
sand  hills,  a  familiar  haunt  of  mine,  indeed,  in  the  olden  times, 
I  could  as  readily  hit  the  quarter  of  the  wind — yea,  to  the 
eighth  of  a  point — as  though  I  took  its  bearings  with  the  com- 
pass before  me.  I  might  be  very  sure  that  this  was  a  breeze  to 
freshen  rapidly,  and  that  even  now  the  boatswain  of  the  Royal 
Brunsivicker  was  thumping  with  a  handspike  upon  the  fore- 
scuttle,  bidding  all  hands  tumble  up  to  man  the  windlass. 
Spalding  must  not  be  suffered  to  stare  over  the  side  in  search 
of  me  while  he  went  on  giving  orders  to  make  sail.  It  was 
very  late.  How  late,  I  knew  not.  I  had  heard  no  clock. 
Maybe  it  was  one  in  the  morning. 

Now,  what  was  I  to  do  ?  I  must  certainly  miss  the  ship  if  I 
hung  about  the  woman  and  the  body  of  her  son.  Even  though 
I  should  set  off  at  full  speed  for  Deal  beach,  I  might  not  imme- 
diately find  a  boatman.  Yet  hurry  I  must.  I  went  up  to  the 
woman,  almost  loathing  the  humanity  that  forced  me  closer  to 
the  body,  and  exclaimed  : 


24  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

"  Come  away  with  me  to  Deal.  You  shall  be  housed  if  I  can 
manage  it ;  but  you  must  rise  and  come  with  me  at  once,  for  I 
cannot  stay." 

She  was  seated  on  the  sand  under  the  arm  of  the  gibbet,  and 
half  of  the  body  lay  across  her,  with  its  head  against  her  breast. 
One  of  her  arms  was  around  it.  She  caressed  its  face  and,  as 
I  spoke,  she  put  her  lips  to  its  forehead.  There  was  no  cap 
over  the  face.  Doubtless  a  cap  had  been  drawn  over  the  un- 
happy wretch  when  he  was  first  turned  off,  but  when  they  hung 
a  man  in  irons  they  removed  his  cap  and  sheathed  the  body  in 
pitch  to  render  it  weatherproof.  Pirates,  however,  and  .  such 
seafaring  sinners  as  this  man,  were  mainly  strung  up  in  irons  in 
their  clothes  ;  and  this  body  was  dressed,  but  he  was  without  a 
hat. 

The  woman  looked  round  and  up  at  me,  and  cried  very 
piteously : 

"  Dear  Christian  gentleman,  whoever  you  maybe,  help  me  to 
seek  some  place  where  I  may  hide  my  child's  body,  that  his 
murderers  shall  not  be  able  to  find  him.  O  Jim,  God  hath 
given  thee  to  thy  mother.  Sir,  for  the  sake  of  thine  own  mother, 
stay  with  me  and  help  me." 

"  I  cannot  stay,"  I  cried,  breaking  in.  "  If  you  will  not  come 
I  must  go." 

She  talked  to  the  body. 

On  this,  seeing  how  it  must  be  and  hoping  to  be  of  some 
use  to  the  poor  creature  before  embarking,  I  said  not  another 
word,  but  started  for  Deal  beach,  walking  like  one  in  a  dream, 
full  of  horror  and  pity  and  astonishment,  but  always  sensible 
that  it  was  growing  lighter  and  yet  lighter  to  windward,  and  that 
the  wind  was  freshening  in  my  face  as  I  walked.  Indeed,  before 
I  had  measured  half  the  distance  to  Deal,  large  spaces  of  clear 
sky  had  opened  among  the  clouds,  with  stars  sliding  athwart 
them  ;  and  low  down  southeast  was  a  corner  of  red  moon 
creeping  along  a  ragged  black  edge  of  vapor. 

When  I  came  to  the  north  end  of  the  town,  where  Beach 
Street  began  and  ended  in  those  days,  I  paused,  abreast  of  a 
tall  capstan  used  for  heaving  up  boats,  and  looked  about  me,  I 
had  thought,  at  odd  moments  as  I  walked  along,  of  how  my 
uncle  had  explained  the  silence  that  lay  upon  Deal  by  speaking 
of  the  press-gang  ;  but,  first,  I  had  no  fear  for  myself,  for  I  was 
mate  of  a  ship,  and,  as  mate,  I  was  not  to  be  taken  ;  and  next, 
putting  this  consideration  apart,  the  press-gang  was  scarcely 
likely  to  be  at  work  at  such  an  hour — at  least  at  Deal,  the 


THE   GIBBET.  25 

habits  of  whose  seafaring  people  would  be  well  known  to  the 
officers  of  His  Majesty's  ships  stationed  in  the  Downs  or  cruis- 
ing in  the  Channel.  But  the  general  alarm  might  render  it  dif- 
ficult for  me  to  find  a  man  to  take  me  off  to  the  ship,  and  more 
difficult  still  to  find  anyone  willing  to  adventure  a  lonely  walk 
by  moonlight  out  on  to  the  sand  hills  to  help  the  woman  I  had 
left  there. 

I  stood  looking  about  me.  A  number  of  vessels  were  getting 
their  anchors  in  the  Downs.  The  delicate  distant  noise  of  the 
clinking  of  revolving  pawls  came  along  in  the  wind,  with  dim 
cries  and  faint  chorusings,  and  under  the  moon  I  spied  two  or 
three  vessels  under  weigh  standing  up  Channel.  This  sight 
filled  me  with  an  agony  of  impatience,  and  I  got  upon  the 
shingle  and  crunched,  sweating  along,  staring  eagerly  ahead. 

A  great  number  of  boats  lay  upon  the  beach,  some  of  them 
big  luggers,  and  in  the  dusk  they  loomed  up  to  twice  their  real 
size.  Nothing  living  stirred.  This  was  truly  astonishing. 
About  half  a  mile  along  the  shingle,  toward  Walmer,  lay  a 
boat  close  to  the  wash  of  the  water  ;  I  could  not  tell  at  that 
distance,  and  by  that  light,  whether  there  was  a  man  in  her  or 
near  her,  but  I  supposed  she  might  be  a  galley-punt,  ready  to 
"  go  off,"  as  the  local  term  is  and  I  walked  toward  her,  A 
minute  later  I  came  to  a  small,  black  wooden  structure,  one  of 
several  little  buildings  used  by  the  Deal  boatmen  for  keeping 
a  lookout  in.  I  saw  a  light  shining  upon  a  bit  of  a  glazed 
window  that  faced  me,  and  stepping  to  this  window,  I  peered 
through  and  beheld  an  old  man  seated  on  a  bench,  with  an  odd 
sort  of  three-cornered  hat  on  his  head,  and  dressed  in  gray 
worsted  stockings  and  a  long  frieze  coat.  An  inch  of  sooty 
pipe  forked  out  from  his  mouth,  and  I  guessed  that  he  was 
awake  by  seeing  smoke  issuing  from  his  lips,  though  his  head 
was  hung,  his  arms  folded,  his  eyes  apparently  closed.  I  stepped 
round  to  the  door,  beat  upon  it,  and  looked  in. 

"  I  am  mate  of  the  Royal  Brunstvicker"  said  I.  "  She's  get- 
ting her  anchor  in  the  Downs,  and  I  want  to  get  aboard  before 
she's  off  and  away.  Where  shall  I  find  a  couple  of  men  to  put 
me  aboard  ?  " 

He  lifted  up  his  head  after  the  leisurely  manner  of  old  age, 
took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth  with  a  trembling  hand,  and  sur- 
veyed me  steadfastly,  as  though  he  was  nearly  blind. 

*'  Where  are  ye  from  ? "  said  he. 

"  From  the  house  of  my  uncle.  Captain  Joseph  Round." 

"  Captain  Joseph  Round,  is  it  ? "  exclaimed  the  old  fellow 


26  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

suspiciously.  "  I  can  remember  Joe  Round — Joey  Round  was 
the  name  he  was  known  by — man  and  boy  fifty-eight  year. 
He'll  be  drawing  on  to  sixty-five,  I  allow.  What  might  be 
yower  name  ? " 

By  this  time  I  had  recollected  the  old  fellow,  and  his  name 
had  come  to  me  with  my  memory  of  him. 

"Martin — Tom  Martin,"  said  I,  "you  are  going  blind,  old 
man,  or  you  would  know  me.  My  name  is  William  Fielding — 
Bill  Fielding  sometimes  along  the  beach  here,  among  such  of 
you  drunken,  smuggling  swabs  as  I  chose  to  be  familiar  with. 
Now,  see  here,  I  must  get  aboard  my  ship  at  once,  and  there'll 
be  another  job  wants  doing  also,  for  the  which  I  shall  be  will- 
ing to  pay  a  guinea.  Tell  me  instantly,  Tom,  of  three  men — 
two  to  row  me  aboard,  and  one  to  send  on  a  guinea's  worth  of 
errand." 

"  Gi's  your  hand,  Mr.  Fielding.  Bless  me,  how  you're 
changed  !  But  aint  that  because  my  sight  aint  what  it  was  ? 
You  want  three  men  ?     Two  to  put  ye  aboard,  and " 

"  And  one  to  send  on  a  guinea's  worth  of  errand — on  a  job 
I  needn't  explain  to  you  here.  Now  bear  a  hand,  or  I  shall 
lose  my  ship." 

On  this,  he  blew  out  the  rushlight  by  which  he  had  been  sit- 
ting, shut  the  door  of  the  old  cabin,  and  moved  slowly  and 
somewhat  staggeringly  over  the  shingle  up  into  Beach  Street, 
along  which  we  walked  for,  I  daresay,  fifty  yards.  He  then 
turned  into  a  sort  of  alley,  and  pausing  before  the  door  of  a 
little  house,  lifted  his  arm  as  though  in  search  of  the  knocker, 
then  bade  me  knock  for  myself,  and  knock  loud. 

I  knocked  heartily,  but  all  remained  silent  for  some  minutes. 
I  continued  to  knock,  and  then  a  window  just  over  the  doorway 
was  thrown  up,  and  a  woman  put  her  head  out.  A  crazy  old 
lamp,  burning  a  dull  flame  of  oil,  stood  at  the  corner  of  the 
alley  or  side  street  and  enabled  me  to  obtain  a  view  of  the 
woman. 

"  Who  are  ye  ?  "  said  she,  in  a  voice  of  alarm,  "  and  what 
d'ye  want  ?" 

"  Is  Dick  in  ?  "  quavered  old  Martin,  looking  up  at  her, 

"  Why,  it's  old  Tom  !  "  exclaimed  the  w'oman.  "  Who's  that 
along  with  ye  ?  " 

"  Capt'n  Round's  nevvy.  Master  Billy  Fielding,  as  we  used  to 
call  him.  His  ship's  in  the  Downs,  there's  a  slant  o'  air  out  of 
the  south,  and  he  wants  to  be  set  aboard.     Is  Dick  in,  I  ask  ye  ?" 

"  What's  that  to  do  with  you  ?  "  answered  the  woman,  draw- 


/  ESCAPE  FROM    THE  PRESS.  27 

ing  her  head  in  with  a  movement  of  misgiving,  and  putting  her 
hands  upon  the  window  as  though  to  bring  it  down.  "  No,  he 
aint  in,  so  there  ;  neither  him  nor  Tom,  so  there.  You  go  on. 
I  don't  like  the  looks  of  your  friend  Mr.  Billy  Fielding  ;  a 
merchantman  with  hepaulets,  is  it  ?  And  what's  an  old  man 
like  you  a-doing  out  of  liis  bed  at  this  hour  ?  Gam  home,  Tom, 
gam  home  ;  "  and  down  went  the  window. 

"  Is  that  woman  mad  ?  "  cried  I.  "  What  does  she  take  me 
to  be  ?     And  does  she  suppose  that  you,  whom  she  must  have 

known  all  her  life I'll  tell  you  what,  Tom  Martin,  I'm  not 

going  to  lose  my  ship  for  the  want  of  a  boat.  If  I  can't  find  a 
waterman  soon  I  shall  seize  the  first  small  punt  I  can  launch 
with  mine  own  hands.     Hark  !  " 

I  heard  footsteps  ;  a  sound  of  the  tread  of  feet  came  from 
Beach  Street.  I  walked  up  the  alley  to  the  entrance  of  it, 
not  for  a  moment  doubting  that  the  fellows  coming  along  were 
Deal  boatmen,  fresh  from  doing  business  out  at  sea.  Old  Tom 
Martin  called  after  me  ;  I  did  not  catch  what  he  said  ;  in  fact 
I  had  no  chance  to  hear  ;  for  when  I  reached  the  entrance  of 
the  alley,  a  body  of  ten  or  twelve  men  came  right  upon  me,  and 
in  a  breath  I  was  collared,  to  a  deep  roaring  cry  of  "  Here's  a 
good  sailor  ! " 

CHAPTER   IV. 

I    ESCAPE    FROM    THE    PRESS. 

I  STRUGGLED  and  was  savagely  gripped  by  the  arm.  I 
stood  grasped  by  two  huge  brawny  men,  one  of  whom  called 
out,  "  No  caper-cutting,  my  lad.  No  need  to  show  your  paces 
here." 

"  I  am  first  mate  of  the  Royal  Brunswicker,"  I  exclaimed. 

"You  looks  like  a  first  mate — the  chap  that  cooks  the  mate. 
You  shall  have  mates  enough,  old  ship — shipmates  and  mess*- 
mates." 

"  Let  me  go.  You  cannot  take  me  ;  you  know  it.  I  am 
first  mate  of  the  Royal  Brunsivicker — the  ship  astern  of  the 
frigate " 

"  Heave  ahead,  lads,"  exclaimed  a  voice  that  was  not 
wanting  in  refinement,  though  it  sounded  as  if  the  person  who 
owned  it  was  rather  tipsy. 

At  the  moment  of  seizing  me  the  company  of  fellows  had 
halted  within  the  sheen  of  the  lamp  at  the  corner  of  the  street. 
They  were  a  wonderfully  fine  body  of   men,  magnificent  ex- 


2  8  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

amples  of  the  British  sailor  of  a  period  when  triumphant  suc- 
cesses and  a  long  victorious  activity  had  worked  the  British 
naval  seaman  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  perfection  that  he  ever 
had  attained,  a  pitch  that  it  must  be  impossible  for  him  under 
the  utterly  changed  conditions  of  the  sea  life  to  ever  again 
attain.  They  were  armed  with  cutlasses,  and  some  of  them 
carried  truncheons  and  wore  round  hats  and  round  jackets  and 
heavy  belts.     Two  of  the  mob  were  pressed  men. 

"  Heave  ahead,  lads,"  cried  the  refined  dram-thickened 
voice. 

I  looked  in  the  direction  of  the  voice,  and  observed  a  young 
fellow  clad  in  a  pea-coat,  with  some  sort  of  head-gear  on  his 
head  that  might  have  been  designed  to  disguise  him. 

"Sir,"  cried  I,  ''are  you  the  officer  in  command  here?" 

"  Never  you  mind  !  Heave  ahead,  lads  ;  steer  a  straight 
course  for  the  boat." 

In  a  moment  the  whole  body  of  us  were  in  motion.  A  sea- 
man on  either  hand  grasped  me  by  the  arm,  and  immediately 
behind  were  the  other  two  pressed  men. 

"Tom  Martin,"  I  roared  out,  hoping  that  the  old  fellow 
might  yet  be  within  hearing  ;  "  you  see  what  has  happened. 
For  God's  sake  report  to  Captain  Round." 

"  Who's  that  bawling  ?  "  angrily  and  huskily  shouted  the 
young  ofificer  in  the  pea-coat. 

I  marched  for  a  few  paces  in  silence,  mad  and  degraded  ; 
bewildered,  too  ;  nay,  I  may  say  confounded  almost  to  dis- 
traction by  the  hurry  of  the  astonishing  experiences  which  I 
had  encountered  within  the  last  hour. 

"What  sliip  do  you  belong  to?"  I  presently  said,  addressing 
a  big  bull-faced  man  who  guarded  me  on  the  left. 

"  The  frigate  out  yonder,"  he  answered  in  a  deep,  wary  voice  ; 
"  keep  a  civil  tongue  in  your  head  and  give  no  trouble,  and 
what's  wrong  will  be  righted,  if  wrong  there  be,"  and  he  looked 
at  me  by  the  light  of  a  second  lamp  that  the  company  of  us 
was  tramping  past. 

"  I  am  mate  of  the  Royal  Brunswicker,  now  probably  getting 
her  anchor  astern  of  your  frigate,"  said  I.  "  Cannot  I  make 
your  ofificer  believe  me,  for  then  he  might  set  me  aboard  ?  " 

The  fellow  on  my  right  rumbled  with  laughter  as  though  he 
would  choke.  We  trudged  onward,  making  for  tliat  part  of 
the  beach  upon  which  King  Street  opens.  Presently  one  of 
the  pressed  men  in  my  wake  began  to  curse  ;  he  used  horrible 
language.    y^'\^\\  frightful  imprecations  he  demanded  to  know 


I  ESCAPE  FROM    THE   PRESS.  29 

why  he  should  be  obliged  to  fight  for  a  king  whose  throat  he 
thirsted  to  cut  ;  why  he  should  be  obliged  to  fight  for  a  nation 
which  he  didn't  belong  to,  whose  people  he  hated  ;  why  he  was 
to  be  converted  into  a  bloody  piratical  man-of-war's  man,  in- 
stead of  being  left  to  follow  the  lawful,  respectable  calling  of  a 
merchant  seaman 

A  mighty  thump  on  the  back,  that  sounded  like  the  blow  of 
a  handspike  upon  a  hatch-cover,  knocked  his  hideous  speech 
into  a  single  half-choked  growl,  and  the  young  gentleman  with 
the  refined  but  husky  voice  called  out  : 

"  If  that  beast  doesn't  belay  his  jaw,  stuff  his  mouth  full  of 
shingle  and  gag  him." 

I  guessed  that  this  gang  were  satisfied  with  picking  up  three 
men  that  night,  for  they  looked  neither  to  right  nor  left  for 
more,  and  headed  on  a  straight  course  for  their  boat.  After 
the  ruffian  astern  of  me  had  been  thumped  into  silence  scarce 
a  word  was  uttered.  The  sailors  seemed  weary,  as  though 
they  had  had  a  long  bout  of  it,  and  the  officer,  perhaps,  was 
too  sensible  of  being  under  the  influence  of  drink  to  venture 
to  define  his  state  by  more  words  than  were  absolutely  needful. 
I  had  heard  much  of  the  brutality  of  the  press-gang,  of  taunts 
and  kicks,  of  maddening  ironic  promises  of  prize  money  and 
glory  to  the  miserable  wretches  torn  from  their  homes  or  from 
their  ships,  of  pitiless  usage,  raw  heads,  and  broken  bones.  All 
this  I  had  heard  of,  but  I  witnessed  nothing  of  the  sort  among 
the  men  into  whose  hands  I  had  fallen.  In  silence  we  marched 
along,  and  the  tramp  of  our  feet  was  returned  in  a  hollow  echo 
from  the  houses  we  passed,  and  the  noise  of  our  tread  ran 
through  the  length  of  the  feebly  lighted  street,  which  the  pres- 
ence of  the  King's  seamen  had  desolated  as  utterly  as  though 
the  plague  had  been  brought  to  Deal  out  of  the  East,  and  as 
though  the  buildings  held  nothing  but  the  dead. 

By  the  time  we  had  arrived  at  that  part  of  the  beach  where 
lay  the  boat — a  large  cutter,  watched  by  a  couple  of  seamen 
armed  with  cutlasses  and  pistols — my  mind  had  in  some  measure 
calmed  down.  The  degradation  of  being  collared  and  man- 
handled was  indeed  maddening  and  heart-subduing  ;  but  then 
I  was  beginning  to  think  this — that  first  of  all  it  was  very  prob- 
able I  must  have  lost  my  ship,  press-gang  or  no  press-gang, 
seeing  that  I  could  not  get  a  boat  to  put  me  aboard  her  ;  next, 
that  my  being  kidnaped,  as  I  call  it,  would  find  me  such  a 
reason  for  my  absence  as  Captain  Spalding  and  the  owners  of 
the  vessel  must  certainly  allow  to  be  unanswerable.     Then, 


30  -    LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

again,  I  was  perfectly  sure  of  being  released  and  sent  ashore 
when  I  had  represented  my  condition  to  the  captain  or  lieu- 
tenant of  the  frigate  ;  and  I  might  also  calculate  upon  old  Tom 
Martin  communicating  with  my  uncle,  who  would,  early  in  the 
day,  come  off  to  the  frigate  and  confirm  my  story. 

These  reflections,  I  say,  calmed  me  considerably,  though  my 
mind  continued  very  much  troubled  and  all  awork  within  me, 
for  I  could  not  forget  the  horrible  picture  of  the  gibbet  and  the 
prodigious  flash  of  fire  which  had  delivered  the  dead  hanging 
son  to  his  wretched  mother  ;  and  I  was  likewise  much  haunted 
and  worried  by  the  thought  of  the  poor  woman  sitting  upon 
the  sand  under  the  gibbet,  fondling  the  loathsome  body  and 
whispering  to  it,  and  often  looking  over  the  billowy  waste  of 
glimmering  sand,  that  would  now  be  whitened  by  the  moon,  in 
the  direction  I  had  taken,  expecting,  perhaps,  that  I  should 
return  or  send  some  human  soul  to  help  her  bury  the  corpse,  that 
it  might  not  be  hooked  up  again. 

The  Downs  were  now  full  of  life.  There  was  a  pleasant 
fresh  breeze  blowing  from  the  southward,  and  the  water  came 
whitening  and  feathering  in  strong  ripples  to  the  shingle.  The 
moon  was  riding  over  the  sea  south  of  the  southernmost  limit  of 
the  Goodwin  Sands.  She  was  making  some  light  in  the  air, 
though  but  a  piece  of  moon,  and  a  short  length  of  her  silver 
greenish  reflection  trembled  under  her.  Almost  all  the  vessels 
had  got  under  weigh  and  were  standing  in  groups  of  dark 
smudges  east  or  v.'est.  It  was  impossible  to  tell  which  might 
be  the  Royal  Bru72Sivicker,  but  I  could  see  no  craft  answering 
to  her  size  in  that  part  near  the  frigate  where  she  had  brought 
up. 

When  we  were  come  to  the  cutter  we  three  pressed  men  were 
ordered  to  get  into  her.  I  quietly  entered,  and  so  did  one  of 
of  the  other  two,  but  the  third — the  man  wlio  had  cursed  and 
raged  as  he  had  walked  along — flung  himself  down  upon  the 
shingle. 

"  What  you  can't  carry  you  may  drag,"  he  exclaimed,  and 
he  swore  horribly  at  the  men. 

"  In  with  the  scoundrel  !  "  said  the  lieutenant. 

And  now  I  saw  what  sort  of  tenderness  was  to  be  expected 
from  press-gangs  when  their  kindness  was  not  deserved,  for 
three  stout  seamen,  catching  hold  of  the  blaspheming  fellow, 
one  by  the  throat,  as  it  seemed,  another  by  the  arm,  and  a  third 
by  the  breech  flung  him  over  the  gunwale  as  if  he  were  some 
dead  carcass  of  a  sheep,  and  he  fell  with  a  crash  upon  the 


/  ESCAPE  FROM   THE  PRESS.  %\ 

thwarts  and  rolled,  bloody  with  a  wound  in  the  head  and  half 
stunned,  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

The  lieutenant  sat  ready  to  ship  the  rudder,  others  of  the 
men  got  into  the  boat,  and  the  rest,  grasping  the  line  of  her 
gunwale  on  either  hand,  rushed  her  roaring  down  the  incline 
of  shingle  into  the  soft  white  wash  of  the  breakers,  themselves 
tumbling  inward  with  admirable  alertness  as  she  was  water- 
borne.  Then  six  long  oars  gave  way,  and  the  boat  sheared 
through  the  ripples. 

The  breeze  was  almost  dead  on  and  the  tide  was  the 
stream  of  flood,  the  set  of  it  already  strong,  as  you  saw  by  the 
manner  in  which  the  in-bound  shadows  of  ships  in  the  east- 
ward shrank  and  melted,  while  those  standing  to  the  west- 
ward, their  yards  braced  well  forward  or  their  fore  and  aft 
booms  pretty  nigh  amidships,  sat  square  to  the  eye  abreast, 
scarcely  holding  their  own.  The  frigate  lay  in  a  space  of  clear 
Avater  at  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  three-quarters.  Though 
the  corner  of  moon  looked  askant  at  her,  she  hung  shapeless 
upon  the  dark  surface,  a  mere  heap  of  intricate  shadow,  with 
the  gleam  of  a  lantern  at  her  stern  and  a  light  on  the  stay 
over  the  spritsail  yard. 

The  man  who  had  been  thrown  into  the  boat  sat  up.  He 
passed  his  wrist  and  the  back  of  his  hand  over  his  brow,  turned 
his  knuckles  to  the  moon  to  look  at  them,  and  broke  out : 

"  You  murdering  blackguards  !  I'll  punish  ye  for  this.  If  I 
handle  your  blasted  powder  it'll  be  to  blow  you  and  your " 

"  Silence  that  villain  !  "  cried  the  lieutenant. 

"  A  villain  yourself,  you  drunken  ruffian  !  You  are  just  the 
figure  of  the  baste  I've  been  draming  all  my  life  I  was  swung 
for.  Oh,  you  rogue,  how  sorry  I  am  for  you  !  Better  had  ye 
given  yourself  up  long  ago  for  the  crimes  you've  commited 
than  have  impressed  me.  The  hangman's  work  would  have 
been  over,  but  my  knife " 

"  Gag  him  !  "  cried  the  lieutenant. 

The  fellow  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  in  another  instant  would 
have  been  overboard.  He  was  caught  by  his  jacket,  felled  in- 
ward by  a  swinging,  cruel  blow,  and  lay  kicking,  fighting,  bit- 
ing, and  blaspheming  at  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  struggle  four  of  the  oarsmen  could  not  row, 
and  the  other  two  lay  upon  their  oars.  The  lieutenant,  in  a 
voice  fiery  with  rage  and  liquor,  roared  out  to  his  men  to  pinion 
the  scoundrel,  to  gag  the  villain,  to  knock  the  blasphemous 
ruffian   over  the  head.     All  sorts  of  wild,    drunken,  savage 


32  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

orders  he  continued  to  roar  out  ;  and  I  was  almost  deafened  by 
his  cries  of  rage,  by  the  howling  and  shouting  of  the  man  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  by  the  curses  and  growlings  of  the  fellows 
who  were  man-handling  him. 

On  a  sudden  a  man  yelled  :  "  For  God's  sake,  sir,  look  out  !  " 
and,  lifting  my  eyes  from  the  struggling  figure  in  the  bottom  of 
tlie  boat,  I  perceived  the  huge  bows  of  a  vessel  of  some  three 
hundred  or  four  hundred  tons  looming  high,  close  aboard  of 
us.  She  had  canvas  spread  to  her  royal  mastheads,  and  leaned 
from  the  breeze  with  the  water  breaking  white  from  her  stem, 
and  in  the  pause  that  followed  the  loud,  hoarse  cry  of  "  For 
God's  sake,  sir,  look  out  !  "  one  could  hear  the  hiss  and  ripple 
of  the  broken  waters  along  her  bends. 

"  Ship  ahoy  !  "  shouted  one  of  the  seamen. 

The  man  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  began  to  scream  afresh, 
struggling  and  fighting  like  a  madman,  and  hopelessly  confus- 
ing the  whole  company  of  sailors  in  that  supreme  moment. 
The  boat  swayed  as  though  she  would  capsize  ;  the  lieutenant, 
standing  high  in  the  stern  sheets,  shrieked  to  the  starboard 
bow  oar  to  "pull  like  hell  !  "  others  roared  to  the  approaching 
ship  to  port  her  helm  ;  but,  in  another  minute,  before  anything 
could  be  done,  the  towering  bow  had  struck  the  boat !  A  cry 
went  up,  and,  in  the  beat  of  a  pulse,  I  was  under  water  with 
a  thunder  as  of  Niagara  in  my  ear. 

I  felt  myself  sucked  down,  but  I  preserved  my  senses,  and 
seemed  to  understand  that  I  was  passing  under  the  body  of  the 
ship,  clear  of  her,  as  though  swept  to  and  steadied  at  some 
depth  below  her  keel  by  the  weight  of  water  her  passage  drove 
in  downward  recoil.  I  rose,  bursting  with  the  holding  of  my 
breath,  and  floated  right  upon  an  oar,  which  I  grasped  with  a 
drowning  grip,  though  I  was  a  tolerable  swimmer  ;  and  after 
drawing  several  breaths — and  oh,  the  ecstasy  of  that  respira- 
tion !  and  oh,  the  sweetness  of  the  air  with  which  I  filled  my 
lungs  ! — my  wits  being  still  perfectly  sound,  I  struck  out  with 
my  legs,  with  no  other  thought  in  me  then  than  to  drive 
clear  of  the  drowning  scramble  which  I  guessed  was  hap- 
pening hard  by. 

The  oar  was  under  my  arms,  and  my  ears  hoisted  well  above 
the  surface  of  the  water.  I  heard  a  man  steadily  shouting — he 
was  at  some  distance  from  me,  and  was  probably  holding,  as  I 
was,  to  something  that  floated  him — but  no  other  cries  than 
that  lonely  shouting  reached  me  ;  no  bubbling  noises  of  the 
strangling  ;  nothing  to  intimate  that  anything  lived. 


/  ESCAPE  FROM   THE  PRESS.  33 

I  turned  my  head  and  looked  in  the  direction  of  the  ship. 
Her  people  may  or  may  not  have  known  that  they  had  run 
down  a  boat.  Certainly  she  had  not  shifted  her  helm  ;  she 
was  standing  straight  on,  a  leaning  shadow  with  the  bit  of  moon 
hanging  over  her  mastheads. 

In  a  few  moments  the  fellow  that  was  shouting  at  some  little 
distance  from  me  fell  silent ;  but  whatever  his  plight  might 
have  been,  I  could  not  have  helped  him,  for  the  tide  was  set- 
ting me  at  the  rate  of  some  two  or  three  miles  in  the  hour  into 
the  northeast,  and,  to  come  at  him,  he  being  astern  of  me  as 
regards  the  direction  of  the  tide,  I  should  have  been  obliged 
to  head  in  the  direction  whence  his  voice  had  proceeded  and 
seek  for  him  ;  and  so,  as  I  say,  I  could  not  have  helped  him. 

We  had  pulled  a  full  mile,  and  perhaps  more  than  a  mile, 
from  the  shore  when  we  were  run  down.  The  low  land  of 
Deal  looked  five  times  as  far  as  a  mile  across  the  rippling  black 
surface  on  which  I  floated.  Yet  I  knew  that  the  distance  could 
not  exceed  a  mile,  and  I  set  my  face  toward  the  lights  of  the 
beach  and  struck  out  with  my  legs  ;  but  I  moved  feebly.  I 
had  swallowed  plentifully  of  salt  water  when  I  sank,  and  the 
brine  filled  me  with  weakness,  and  I  was  heavv  and  sick  with  it. 
Then,  again,  my  strength  had  been  shrunk  by  the  sudden 
dreadful  shock  of  the  collision  and  by  my  having  been  under 
water,  breathless  and  bursting,  while,  as  I  might  take  it,  the 
whole  length  of  the  ship  was  passing  over  me.  I  knew  that  I 
should  never  reach  the  land  by  hanging  over  an  oar  and  strik- 
ing out  with  my  legs.  The  oar  was  long  and  heavy  ;  there  was 
no  virtue  in  the  kick  of  my  weakened  heels  to  propel  the  great 
blade  and  loom  of  ash  held  athwart  as  I  was  obliged  to  hold  it. 
And  all  this  time  the  tide  was  setting  me  away  northeast, 
with  an  arching  trend  to  the  sheerer  east,  owing  to  the  con- 
formation of  the  land  thereabouts ;  so  that  though  for 
some  time  I  kept  my  face  turned  upon  Deal,  languidly, 
almost  lifelessly,  moving  my  legs  in  the  direction  of  the  lights 
of  that  town,  in  reality  the  stream  was  striking  me  into  the 
wider  water  ;  and  after  a  bit  I  was  able  to  calculate — and  I 
have  no  doubt  accurately — that  if  I  abandoned  myself  to  my 
oar  and  floated  only  (and  in  sober  truth  that  was  all  I  could 
do,  and  pretty  much  all  tliat  I  had  been  doing),  I  should 
double  the  North  Foreland  at  about  two  miles  from  that  point 
of  coast,  and  strand,  a  corpse,  upon  some  shoal  off  Margate  or 
higher  up. 

I  looked  about  me  for  a  ship.     Therein  lay  hope.     I  looked, 


34  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

not  for  a  ship  at  anchor,  unless  she  hove  in  view  right  on  end 
of  the  course  my  oar  was  taking,  but  for  a  vessel  in  motion  to 
hail  as  she  came  by  ;  but  I  reckoned  she  must  come  by  soon, 
for  on  testing  my  lungs  when  I  thought  of  the  shout  I  would 
raise  if  a  ship  came  by,  I  discovered  that  she  would  have  to 
pass  very  close  if  she  was  to  hear  me.  Indeed,  what  I  had 
undergone  that  night,  from  the  moment  of  lighting  upon  the 
gibbet  down  to  this  moment  of  finding  myself  floating  on  one 
oar,  had  proved  too  much  for  my  strength,  extraordinarily  robust 
as  I  was  in  those  days  :  and  then,  again,  the  water  was  bitterly 
cold — cold,  too,  was  the  wind  as  it  brushed  me,  with  a  constant 
feathering  of  ripples  that  kept  my  head  and  face  wet  for  the 
wind  to  blow  the  colder  upon. 

The  light  was  feeble,  the  moon  shed  but  scant  illumination, 
and  whenever  she  was  shadowed  by  a  cloud,  deep  darkness 
closed  over  the  sea.  There  were  vessels  near  and  vessels  afar, 
but  none  to  be  of  use.  A  large  cutter  was  heading  eastward 
about  half  a  mile  abreast  of  me  ;  I  shouted  and  continued  to 
shout,  but  a  drowning  sigh  would  have  been  as  audible  to  her 
people.  She  glided  on,  and  when  the  moon  went  behind  a 
cloud  the  loom  of  the  cutter  blended  with  the  darkness,  and 
when  the  moon  came  out  again,  and  I  looked  for  the  vessel,  I 
could  not  see  her. 

I  afterward  learned  that  I  passed  five  hours  in  this  dreadful 
situation.  How  long  I  had  spent  hanging  over  the  oar  when 
ray  senses  left  me  I  know  not  ;  I  believe  that  dawn  was  not  then 
far  off ;  I  seem  to  recollect  a  faintness  of  gray  stealing  up  off 
the  distant  rim  of  the  sea  like  a  smoke  into  the  sky,  the  horizon 
standing  firm  and  dark  against  the  dimness  as  though  the  water 
were  of  thick  black  paint  ;  and  by  that  time  I  guess  I  had  been 
carried  by  the  tide  to  a  part  of  the  Channel  that  lies  abreast  of 
the  cliffs  between  the  town  of  Ramsgate  and  the  little  bay  into 
which  the  Stour  empties  itself. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CAPTAIN    MICHAEL    GREAVES    OF    THE    "  BLACK    WATCH." 

I  FOUND  myself  in  the  cabin  of  a  ship.  I  lay  in  a  hammock, 
and  when  I  opened  my  eyes  I  looked  straight  up  at  a  beam 
running  across  the  upper  deck.  I  stared  at  this  beam  for  some 
time,  wondering  what  it  was  and  wondering  where  I  was  ;  I 
then  turned  my  head  from  side  to  side,  and  perceived  that  I 


CAPTAIN  MICHAEL  GREA  VRS.  35 

was  in  a  hammock,  and  that  I  lay  in  my  shirt  under  some 
blankets. 

How  came  I  here,  thought  I  ?  If  this  be  tlie  Royal  Bruns- 
wicker  they've  shifted  my  berth,  or  have  I  blun4ered  into 
another  man's  bed  !  I  lifted  my  head  to  look  over  the  edge  of 
the  hammock,  for  the  canvas  walls  came  somewhat  high,  the 
bolster  was  small  and  my  head  lay  low,  and  I  was  startled  to 
find  that  I  had  not  the  power  to  straighten  my  spine  into  an 
upright  posture.  Thrice  did  I  essay  to  sit  up  and  thrice  did  I 
fail,  but  by  putting  my  hand  on  the  edge  of  the  hammock  and 
incurving  the  flexible  canvas  to  about  the  level  of  my  nose,  I 
contrived  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  interior  in  which  I  swung  ; 
and  found  it  to  consist  of  a  little  berth  or  cabin,  the  walls  and 
bulkheads  of  a  gloomy  snuff  color,  lighted  by  a  small  scuttle  or 
circular  port-hole  of  the  diameter  of  a  saucer,  filled  with  a  heavy 
block  of  glass,  which,  as  I  watched  it,  darkened  into  a  deep 
green,  then  flashed  out  into  snowy  whiteness,  then  darkened 
again,  and  so  on  with  regular  alternations  :  and  by  this  I 
guessed  that  I  was  not  only  on  board  a  ship,  but  that  the  ship  I 
was  on  board  of  was  rolling  heavily  and  plunging  sharply,  and 
rushing  through  the  seas  as  though  driving  before  a  whole  gale 
of  wind. 

There  was  no  snuff-colored  cabin,  with  a  scuttle  of  the 
diameter  of  a  saucer,  to  be  found  on  board  the  Royal  Bruns- 
wicker  J  this  ship  therefore  could  not  be  the  vessel  that  I  was 
mate  of.  I  was  hugely  puzzled,  and  my  wits  whirred  in  my 
brain  like  the  works  of  a  watch  when  the  spring  breaks,  and  I 
continued  to  peer  over  the  edge  of  the  hammock  that  I  held 
pressed  down,  vainly  seeking  enlightenment  in  a  plain  black 
locker  that  stood  under  the  scuttle  and  in  what  I  must  call  a 
washstand  in  the  corner  of  the  berth  facing  the  door,  and  in  a 
small  lamp,  resembling  a  cheap  tin  coffee-pot,  standing  upon  a 
metal  bracket  nailed  to  the  bulkhead. 

As  nothing  came  to  me  out  of  these  things  I  let  go  the  edge 
of  the  hammock  and  gazed  at  the  beam  again  overhead,  and 
sunk  my  sensations  into  the  motions  of  the  ship,  insomuch 
that  I  could  feel  every  roll  and  toss  of  her,  every  dive,  pause, 
and  staggering  rush  forward  as  tliough  it  were  a  pulse,  and  I 
said  to  myself,  "  It  blows  hard,  and  a  tall  sea  is  running,  and  I 
am  on  board  a  smaller  ship  than  the  Royal  Brimsiuicker,  and 
our  speed  cannot  be  less  than  twelve  knots  an  hour  through  the 
water." 

I  now  grew  conscious  that  I  was  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  as 


36  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

thirst  is  pain  even  in  its  very  earliest  promptings — unlike 
hunger,  which  wlien  first  felt  is  by  no  means  a  disagreeable 
sensation — I  endeavored  to  sit  up,  intending  in  that  posture 
to  call  out,  but  found  myself,  as  before,  helpless.  Then  I 
thought  I  would  call  out  without  sitting  up,  and  I  opened  my 
mouth,  but  my  lungs  would  deliver  nothing  better  than  a  most 
ridiculous  groan.  However,  after  some  ten  minutes  had  passed, 
the  top  of  a  man's  head  showed  over  the  rim  of  the  hammock. 
The  sight  of  his  eyes  and  his  large  cap  of  fur  or  hair  startled 
me  ;  I  had  not  heard  him  enter. 

"  Have  you  your  consciousness  ? "  said  he. 

I  answered  "  Yes." 

"I  am  no  doctor,"  said  he,  "  and  don't  know  what  I  am  to 
do  now  that  your  senses  have  come  to  you." 

"I  should  like  something  to  drink,"  said  I. 

"  You  shall  have  it,"  he  answered,  "  give  the  drink  a  name  ? 
Brandy-and-water?  " 

"Anything,"  I  exclaimed.     "I  am  very  thirstv." 

"  Can  you  eat  ?  " 

"  I  believe  I  shall  be  able  to  eat,"  I  replied,  ''when  I  have 
drunk." 

The  head  disappeared.  Memory  now  returned.  I  exactly 
recollected  all  that  liad  befallen  me  down  to  the  moment  when, 
as  I  have  already  said,  I  fancied  I  beheld  the  faint  color  of  the 
dawn  lifting  like  smoke  off  the  black  edge  of  the  sea.  I  gath- 
ered by  the  light  in  the  cabin  that  it  was  morning  and  not  yet 
noon,  and  conceiving  that  I  might  have  been  taken  out  of  the 
water  some  half-hour  after  I  had  lost  consciousness,  I  calculated 
that  I  had  been  insensible  for  nearly  five  hours.  This  scared 
me.  A  man  does  not  like  to  feel  that  he  has  been  as  dead  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  as  a  corpse  for  five  hours,  not  sleeping, 
but  mindless  and,  for  all  he  knows,  soulless. 

I  now  heard  a  voice.  "  Give  me  the  glass,  Jim."  The  man 
whose  head  had  before  appeared  showed  his  face  again  over 
the  edge  of  the  hammock.  "  Drink  this,"  said  he,  holding  up 
a  glass  of  brandy-and-water. 

I  eagerly  made  to  seize  the  glass,  but  could  not  lift  my  head, 
nor  even  advance  my  hands  the  required  distance. 

"  Go  and  bring  me  the  low  stool  out  of  my  cabin,  and  bear  a 
hand,"  said  the  man,  and  a  minute  later  he  rose  till  his  head 
was  stooping  under  the  upper  deck.  He  was  now  able  to  com- 
mand the  hammock  in  which  I  lay,  and  lifting  my  head  with 
his  arm  he  put  the  tumbler  to  my  lips,  and  I  drank  with  feverish 


CAPTAIN  MICHAEL  GREAVES.  37 

greediness.  He  then  put  a  plate  of  sandwiches  formed  of 
while  loaf  bread  and  thin  slices  of  beef  upon  the  blankets  and 
bade  me  eat.  This  I  contrived  to  do  unaided.  While  I  ate 
he  dismounted  from  the  stool,  gave  certain  instructions  which 
I  did  not  catch  to  his  companion  who,  as  he  did  not  reach  to 
the  height  at  which  tlie  hammock  swung,  I  was  unable  to  see, 
and  then  came  to  the  edge  of  the  hammock,  and  stood  viewing 
me  while  I  slowly  munched. 

I  gazed  at  him  intently  and  sometimes  I  thought  I  had  seen 
his  face  before,  and  sometimes  I  believed  that  he  was  a  perfect 
stranger  to  me.  He  had  dark  eyes  and  dark  shaggy  eyebrows, 
was  smooth  shaven  and  looked  about  thirty-four  years  of  age, 
but  his  fur  cap  was  concealing  wear  ;  the  hair  of  it  mingled 
with  his  own  hair  and  fringed  his  brow,  contracting  what  had 
else  been  visible  of  the  forehead,  and  it  was  only  when  the 
hammock  swung  to  a  heavier  roll  than  usual  that  I  caught  a 
sight  of  the  whole  of  his  face.  The  brandy-and-water  did  me 
a  great  deal  of  good.     It  made  me  feel  as  if  I  could  talk. 

"  You're  beginning  to  look  somewhat  lifelike  now,"  said  he; 
"  Can  you  bear  being  questioned  ?  " 

"  Ay,  and  to  ask  questions." 

These  words  I  pronounced  with  some  strength  of  voice. 

"Well,  you'll  forgive  me  for  beginning  ?  "  said  he,  gazing  at 
me  fixedly  and  very  gravely.     "  I  want  to  know  what  sort  of  a 
man  I've  picked  up.     Were  you  ever  hanged  ?  " 
'  The  sandwich  which  I  was  about  to  bring  to  my  mouth  was 
arrested  midway,  as  though  my  arm  had  been  withered. 

"Half-hanged  call  it,"  said  he,  continuing  to  eye  me  sternly, 
and  yet  with  a  singular  expression  of  curiosity  too.  "  Gibbeted, 
I  mean — triced  up — cut  down,  and  then  suffered  to  cut  stick 
on  its  being  discovered  that  you  weren't  choked  ? " 

Weak  as  I  was  I  turned  of  a  deep  red  ;  I  felt  the  blood  hot 
and  tingling  in  my  cheeks. 

"  You'll  not  ask  me  that  question  when  I  have  my  strength," 
said  I. 

"  You  have  been  delirious,  and  nearly  all  your  intelligible 
talk  has  been  about  a  gibbet  and  hanging  in  chains." 

"  Ha  !  "  said  I. 

"  I  had  learnt  off  Margate  that  a  man  had  been  hanged  at 
Deal." 

I  said  "  Yes,"  and  went  on  eating  the  sandwich  I  held. 

"  We  picked  you  up  off  Ramsgate,  floating  on  an  oar  belong- 
ing to  a  boat  of  one  of  His  Majesty's  ships.     Now,  should  I  have 


38  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

found  anything  suspicious  in  that  ?  Not  at  all.  Your  dress 
told  me  you  were  not  a  navy  Johnny.  There  was  a  story,  and 
I  was  willing  to  wait  and  hear  it ;  but  when,  being  housed  in 
this  hammock,  you  turned  to  and  jawed  about  a  gibbet  and 
about  hanging  in  irons  ;  when  I'd  listen  to  you  singing  out  for 
help  to  unhook  the  body,  to  stand  clear  of  the  lightning — 'Now 
is  your  time,'  you'd  sing  out  ;  'by  the  legs  and  up  with  it,'  '  'Tis 
for  a  poor  mother's  sake,'  a  poor  mother's  sake — I  say,  when  I'd 
stand  by  hearkening  to  what  the  great  dramatist  would  call  the 
perilous  stuff  which  your  soul  or  your  conscience,  or  whatever 
it  might  have  been  that  was  working  in  you,  was  throwing  up 
as  water  is  thrown  up  by  a  ship's  pump,  why " 

The  color  of  temper  had  left  my  face.  I  eyed  him,  slightly 
smiling,  munching  my  sandwich  quietly. 

"  Captain  Michael  Greaves,"  said  I,  "  I  am  no  half-hanged 
man," 

On  hearing  the  name  I  gave  him  he  started  violently  ;  then, 
catching  hold  of  the  edge  of  the  hammock,  so  tilted  it  as  to 
nearly  capsize  me,  while  he  thrust  his  face  close  to  mine. 

"What  was  that  you  said?"  cried  he. 

"  I  am  no  hanged  man." 

"  You  pronounced  my  name,"  he  cried,  continuing  to  hold 
by  the  hammock  and  swinging  with  it  as  the  ship  rolled. 

"  I  know  your  name,"  I  replied. 

"  Have  you  ever  sailed  with  me  ?" 

"No." 

"  How  does  it  happen  that  you  know  me  ?  " 

"Is  not  this  a  brig  called  the  Black  Watch"  said  I,  "and 
are  not  you,  Captain  Michael  Greaves,  in  command  of  her?  " 

"  Chaw  !  I  see  how  it  is,"  he  exclaimed,  the  wonder  going 
out  of  his  face  while  he  let  go  of  my  hammock.  "  You  have 
had  what  they  call  lucid  intervals,  during  which  you  have  picked 
up  my  name  and  the  name  of  my  vessel — though  Vv'ho  the  deuce 
has  visited  you  saving  me  and  the  lad  ?  and  neither  of  us,  I  swear, 
has  ever  once  found  you  conscious  until  just  now." 

"  Will  you  give  me  some  more  brandy-and-water  ?  I  am  still 
very  thirsty.  A  second  draught  may  enable  me  to  converse.  I 
feel  very  weak,  but  I  do  not  think  I  am  as  weak  as  I  was  a 
little  while  ago ;  "  and  I  lifted  my  head  to  test  my  strength, 
and  found  that  I  was  able  to  look  over  the  edge  of  the 
hammock. 

In  doing  this  I  got  a  view  of  Captain  Michael  Greaves'  figure. 
He  was  a  square,  tall,  well-built  man — as  tall  as  I,  but  more 


CA  P  TA  IN  MICH  A  EL  GREA  VES.  39 

nobly  framed  ;  his  face,  his  shape,  his  air  expressed  great 
decision  and  resolution  of  character.  He  wore  a  pea-coat  that 
fell  to  his  knees,  and  this  coat  and  a  pair  of  immense  sea-boots 
and  a  fur  cap  formed  his  visible  apparel.  He  stepped  out  of 
the  berth,  and  in  a  minute  after  returned  with  a  glass  of  brandy- 
and-water.  This  I  took  down  almost  as  greedily  as  I  had 
emptied  the  contents  of  the  first  glass.  I  thanked  him,  handed 
him  the  tumbler,  and  said  : 

"  You  were  chief  mate  of  a  ship  called  the  Rajal  " 

"  That  is  so. 

"  In  the  month  of  November,  1809,  you  were  lying  in  Table 
Bay  ? " 

He  reflected,  and  then  repeated  : 

"That  is  so." 

"There  was  a  ship,"  I  continued,  "  called  the  Iiainbow,\.\\3X 
lay  astern  of  you  by  some  ten  ships'-Iengths." 

He  gazed  at  me  very  earnestly,  and  looked  as  though  he 
guessed  what  was  coming. 

"One  morning,"  said  I,  "  a  boat  put  off  from  the  Jiaja.  She 
hoisted  sail  and  went  away  toward  Cape  Town.  A  burst  of 
wind  came  down  the  mountain  and  capsized  her,  whereupon  a 
boat  belonging  to  the  Rainbow  made  for  the  drowning  people, 
picked  them  up,  and  put  them  aboard  their  own  ship." 

He  thrust  his  arm  into  the  hammock  and  grasped  my  hand. 

"  You  are  Mr.  Fielding.  You  were  the  second  mate  of  the 
Rainboiu.  You  it  was  who  saved  my  life  and  the  lives  of  the 
others.  Strange  that  it  should  fall  to  my  lot  to  save  yours  ; 
and  for  me  to  suppose  that  you  had  been  hanged  !  By  Isten  ! 
but  this  is  a  little  world.  It  is  not  astonishing  that  I  should 
not  have  known  you.  You  are  something  changed  in  the  face  ; 
likewise  you  have  been  very  nearly  drowned.  We  shall  be  able 
to  find  out  how  many  hours  you  lay  washing  about  in  the 
Channel.  And  add  to  this  a  veiy  long  spell  of  emaciating  in- 
sensibility." 

"  I  was  never  hanged,"  said  I. 

"  No,  no,"  he  said,  "  but  all  your  babble  was  about  gibbets 
and  chains." 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  a  gibbet  and  a  man  dangling  from  it 
in  chains,  in  all  human  probability  I  should  not  now  be  here. 
I  was  delayed  by  an  object  of  horrible  misery,  and  the  period 
of  my  humane  loitering  tallied  to  a  second  with  the  movements 
of  a  press-gang,  or  I  should  be  on  board  my  own  ship,  the 
Royal  Bruiisivickery  of  which  vessel   I  am   mate.     Where  will 


4°  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

she  be  now?"  I  considered  awhile.  "Say  she  got  under 
weigh  at  two  o'clock  this  morning — how  is  the  wind,  Captain 
Greaves  ?" 

"  It  blows  fresh,  and  is  dead  foul  for  the  Royal  Brunswicker  if 
she  be  inward  bound." 

"  Then,"  said  I,  "  she  may  have  brought  up  in  the  Downs 
again.  I  hope  she  has.  I  may  be  able  to  rejoin  her  before  the 
wind  shifts.     In  what  part  of  the  Channel  are  you  ?" 

*'  Out  of  it,  clear  of  the  Scillies." 

^"  Out  of  the  Channel V  I  cried,  "Do  you  sail  by  witch- 
craft ?     What  time  is  it,  pray  ?  " 

"  A  few  minutes  after  eleven." 

"  You  were  off  Margate  this  morning  at  daybreak,"  said  I, 
"  and  now,  at  a  few  minutes  after  eleven  o'clock,  you  are  out 
of  the  Channel  ?  " 

"I  was  off  Margate  three  days  ago  at  daybreak,"  he  an- 
swered. 

"  Have  I  been  insensible  three  days  ?  It  is  news  to  strike 
the  breath  out  of  a  man.     Three  days  !     Of  course  the  Royal 

Brunswicker  has  arrived  in  the  Thames  and Out  of  the 

Channel,  do  you  say  ?     How  am  I  to  get  ashore  ?  " 

"  We  will  talk  about  that  presently." 

I  lay  speechless,  with  my  eyes  fastened  upon  the  beam  above 
the  hammock. 

"You  have  talked  enough,"  said  Captain  Greaves;  "yet 
there  is  one  question  I  should  like  to  ask,  if  you  have  breath 
enough  to  answer  it  with  :  How  came  you  to  hear  that  this 
brig's  name  is  the  Black  Watch  ?  " 

"  I  read  of  the  brig  in  an  old  newspaper  that  I  was  hunting 
over  for  news  at  my  uncle's  house  last  evening." 

"  Not  last  evening,"  said  he,  smiling. 

"And  have  I  been  three  days  unconscious?" 

"  I  suppose  my  name  was  given  as  the  commander  of  this 
brig  ? " 

"Yes  ;  fitting  out  for  a  privateering  cruise." 

"  Did  the  newspaper  say  so  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  did." 

"There  is  no  lie  like  the  newspaper  lie,"  said  he.  "  I  have 
no  doubt  that  Ananias  conducted  a  provincial  journal  some- 
where in  those  parts  where  he  was  struck  dead.  But  we  have 
talked  enough.  Get  now  some  sleep,  if  you  can.  A  dish  of 
soup  shall  be  got  ready  for  you  by  and  by,  and  there  is  some 
yery  fine  old  madeira  aboard." 


CAPTAIN  MICHAEL   GREAVES.  41 

He  went  out,  but  returned  to  put  a  stick  into  my  hammock, 
bidding  me  knock  on  the  bulkhead  should  I  need  anything,  as 
the  lad,  Jimmy  Vinten,  would  be  in  and  out  of  the  cabin  all  day, 
and    would  hear  me  if   he  (Greaves)  did  not.     I  lay   lost  in 
thought,  for  I  was  not  so  weak  but  that  I  was  able  to  think 
with  energy,  even  passion,  though  I  was  without  the  power  to 
continue  much  longer  in  conversation  with  Captain  Greaves. 
I  was  mightily  shocked  and  scared  to  think  that  I  had  been  in- 
sensible for  three  days,  babbling  of  gibbets  and  hanged  men, 
and    the  angels    know  what  besides  ;  yet  why  I  should  have 
been  shocked  and  scared  I  can't  imagine,  unless  it  was  that  I 
awoke  to  the  knowledge  of  my  past  condition  in  a  very  low, 
weak,  miserable,  nervous  state.     Here  was  I  clear  of  the  Chan- 
nel in  an  outward-bound  brig,  whose  destination  I  had  yet  to 
learn,  making  another  voyage  ere  the  long  one  I  was  fresh  from 
could  be  said,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned  at  all  events,  to  be  over. 
But  this  was  not  a  consideration  to  trouble  me  greatly,     First 
of  all,  my  life  had  been  miraculously  preserved,  and  for  that 
I  clasped  my  hands  and  whispered  thanks.     Next,  the  brig  was 
bound  to  speedily  fall  in  with  some  ship  heading  for  England, 
and  I  might  be  sure  that  Greaves  would  take  the  first  oppor- 
tunity that  offered  to  tranship  me.     It  was  very  important  to 
me  that  I  should  get  to  England  quickly.     There  was  a  bal- 
ance of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  due  to  me  for  wages, 
and  all  my  possessions — trifling  enough,  indeed — were  in  my 
cabin  aboard  the  Royal  Briinswicker.     If  my  uncle  did  not  pro- 
cure me  command  next  voyage  Spalding  would  take  me  as  his 
mate  ;  but  I   must  make  haste  to  report   myself,  for  I  might 
count  upon  old  Tom  Martin  telling  Captain  Round  that  I  had 
been  taken  by  a  press-gang,   and   then  of  course  all   England 
would  have  heard,  or  in  time  would  hear,  that  a  press-boat,  with 
pressed  men  aboard,  had  been  run  down  in  the  Downs  with  loss 
of  most  of  her  people,  as  I  did  not  doubt,  and  Spalding,  believ- 
ing me  drowned,  would  appoint  another  in  my  place  as  mate. 

Well,  in  this  way  ran  my  thoughts,  and  then  I  fell  asleep,  and 
when  I  awoke  the  afternoon  was  far  advanced,  as  I  saw  by  the 
color  of  the  light  upon  the  scuttle.  I  grasped  the  stick  that 
lay  in  my  hammock,  and  was  rejoiced  to  find  that  the  long 
spell  of  deep  refreshing  slumber  had  returned  me  much  of  my 
strength.  I  beat  upon  the  bulkhead  with  the  stick,  and  in  two 
or  three  moments  a  voice,  proceeding  from  somebody  standing 
near  the  hammock,  asked  me  what  I  wanted. 

It  was  a  youth  of  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  lean,  knock- 


42  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

kneed,  sandy,  and  freckled,  and  of  a  "  moony  "  expression  of 
countenance  that  plainly  said  "lodgings  to  let."  I  never  saw 
a  more  expressionless  face.  It  made  you  think  of  a  wall-eyed 
dab — of  the  flattest  of  flat  fish.  Yet  what  was  wanting  in  mind 
seemed  to  be  supplied  in  muscle.  In  fact  he  had  the  hand  of 
a  giant,  and  his  whole  conformation  suggested  sinew  gnarled, 
twisted,  and  tautly  screwed  into  human  shape. 

"  I  am  awake.     You  can  see  that,"  said  I. 

•"  I  see  that,"  answered  the  youth. 

"  I  am  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  wish  for  something  to  eat  and 
something  to  drink." 

"  There's  bin  pork  and  madeery  ready  agin  your  arousin'. 
Shall  I  get  'em  ?  "  said  the  youth. 

I  was  astonished  to  hear  him  speak  of  pork,  but  nevertheless 
made  answer,  "  If  you  please." 

He  returned  with  a  tray  and  handed  up  to  me  a  basin  of  ex- 
cellent broth  and  a  slice  of  bread,  a  wineglass,  and  a  small  de- 
canter of  madeira.  I  looked  at  the  broth  and  then  looked  at 
the  youth  and  said,"  Do  you  call  this  pork  ?" 

He  upturned  his  flat  face  and  gazed  at  me  vacantly. 

"  Where  is  the  pork  ? "  said  I. 

"  There  aint  none,  master." 

"  Poor  idiot !  "  I  thought  to  myself.  I  now  discovered  that 
I  could  sit  up  ;  so  I  sat  up  and  ate  and  drank.  The  madeira 
was  a  noble  wine  ;  the  like  of  it  I  have  never  since  tasted.  That 
meal,  coming  on  top  of  my  long  sleep,  went  far  to  make  a  new 
man  of  me,  and  I  felt  as  though  I  should  be  able  to  dress  my- 
self and  go  on  deck,  but  on  throwing  my  legs  over  the  edge  of 
the  hammock  I  discovered  that  I  was  not  quite  so  strong  as  I  had 
imagined  ;  I  trembled  considerably,  and  I  was  unable  to  hold  my 
back  straight  ;  so  I  lay  down  again,  well  satisfied  with  my  pro- 
gress, and  very  sure  I  should  have  strength  to  rise  in  the  morning. 

The  youth  stayed  in  the  berth  while  I  ate  and  drank,  and  I 
asked  him  some  questions. 

"  Where  is  Captain  Greaves?" 

"  On  deck,  master.  We  have  been  chased,  but  aint  we  drop- 
ping her  nicely,  though!  Ah!  She's ///(X/ size  on  the  sea  now," 
said  he,  holding  up  his  hand,  "  and  at  two  o'clock  we  could 
count  her  guns." 

"  This  is  a  fast  brig  then  ?" 
She's  all  legs,  master." 

"  What  are  you  ? " 

"  I'm  the  capt'n's  servant  and  cabin  boy." 


/   VIEW    THE  BRIG.  43 

**  What's  the  name  of  your  mate  ?  " 

"Yawcob  Van  Laar." 

"  A  Dutchman  ?  "  said  I ;  and  then  I  remembered  having 
read  in  tlie  paper  that  this  brig  had  been  purchased  or  char- 
tered by  a  Dutch  merchant  of  Amsterdam,  so  that  it  was  lilcely 
enough  she  would  carry  some  Dutch  folk  among  her  crew. 
"  Are  you  all  Dutch  ?  " 

"  No,  master.  There  be  Wirtz,  Galen,  Hals,  and  Bol ;  them 
four,  they  be  Dutch.  And  there  be  Friend,  Street,  Meehan, 
Travers,  Teach,  Call,  and  me  ;  Irish  and  English,  master." 

I  was  struck  by  the  fellow's  memory.  His  face  made  no 
promise  of  that  faculty. 

"  Eleven  men,"  said  I  aloud,  but  thinking  rather  than  talk- 
ing; "and  a  mate  and  a  captain,  thirteen;  and  the  ship's 
burden,  if  I  recollect  aright,  falls  short  by  a  trifle  of  three  hun- 
dred tons.  Her  Dutch  owner  appears  to  have  manned  her 
frugally  for  such  times  as  these.  Most  assuredly,"  said  I,  still 
thinking  aloud,  gazing  at  the  flat  face  of  the  youth  who  was 
looking  up  at  me  with  a  slightly  gaping  mouth,  "  the  Black 
Watch  is  no  privateer.     Where  are  you  bound  to  ?  " 

"  Dunno,  master." 

"  You  don't  know  !  But  when  you  shipped  you  shipped  for 
a  destination,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  I  shipped  for  that  there  cabin,"  said  the  youth,  pointing 
backward  over  his  shoulder  with  an  immense  thumb. 

I  finished  the  wine,  handed  down  the  decanter  and  bowl, 
and  asked  the  youth  to  procure  me  a  pipe  of  tobacco.  This 
he  did,  and  I  lay  smoking  and  musing  upon  the  object  of  the 
voyage  of  the  Black  Watch.  The  vessel  was  being  thrashed 
through  the  water.  It  was  blowing  fresh,  and  she  hummed  in 
every  plank  as  she  swept  through  the  sea.  The  foam  roared 
like  a  cataract  past  the  scuttle,  but  her  lieel  was  moderate  ;  the 
wind  was  evidently  abaft  the  beam,  the  sea  was  deep  and 
regular  in  its  swing,  and  the  heave  and  hurl  of  the  brig  as 
rhythmic  in  pulse  as  the  melody  of  a  waltz. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

I  VIEW  THE  BRIG. 

Presently  it  fell  dark  ;  but  hardly  had  the  last  of  the  red, 
wet  light  faded  off  the  scuttle  when  the  youth  Jim  re-entered 
the  berth  and  lighted  the  coffee-pot-shaped  lamp,  and  as  he 
went  out  Captain  Greaves  came  in. 


44  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

He  asked  me  how  I  felt.  I  told  him  that  I  was  almost  well, 
that  I  hoped  to  be  quite  well  by  the  morning,  in  which  case  I 
would  beg  him  to  transfer  nie  to  the  first  homeward  bound 
craft  that  passed,  though  she  should  be  no  bigger  than  a  ship's 
longboat.  He  viewed  me,  I  thought,  somewhat  strangely,  smiled 
slightly,  was  silent  long  enough  to  render  silence  somewhat 
significant,  and  then  said  :  "  A  beast  of  a  frigate  showing  no 
colors  has  kept  me  anxious  this  afternoon.  We  have  run  her 
hull  down,  but  she  has  only  just  thought  proper  to  shift  her 
helm.  Possibly  an  Englishman  who  took  us  for  a  Yankee." 
Saying  this  he  pulled  off  his  fur  cap  and  exhibited  a  fine  head 
with  a  quantity  of  thick,  black  hair  curling  upon  it  ;  he  next 
produced  and  filled  a  pipe  of  tobacco  and,  removing  his  pea- 
coat,  he  lighted  his  pipe  at  the  lamp  and  seated  himself  on  the 
locker  in  the  attitude  of  a  seaman  who  intends  to  enjoy  a  yarn 
and  a  smoke. 

I  was  strong  enough  to  hold  my  head  over  the  edge  of  the 
hammock  ;  thus  we  kept  each  other  in  view. 

"D'ye  feel  able  to  talk,  Mr.  Fielding?"  said  Greaves, 

"Very  able,  indeed,"  I  answered.  "  Your  madeira  has  made 
a  new  man  of  me." 

"  How  happened  it,"  said  he,  "  that  you  should  be  washing 
about  on  the  oar  of  a  man-of-war's  boat  off  Ramsgate,  the 
other  morning,  when  we  fell  in  with  you  ?  " 

I  begged  him  to  put  a  pinch  of  tobacco  into  the  bowl  of  my 
pipe  and  to  hold  the  lamp  to  me,  and  when  I  had  lighted  my 
pipe  and  he  had  resumed  his  seat  I  began  my  story  ;  and  I 
told  him  everything  that  had  befallen  me  from  the  time  of  my 
arrival  in  the  Downs  in  the  ship  Royal  Brunswicker  down  to 
the  hour  when  I  found  myself  afloat  on  an  oar,  heading  a 
straight  course  east  by  north  with  the  stream  of  the  tide.  He 
listened  with  earnest  attention,  smoking  very  hard  at  some 
parts  of  my  narrative,  and  emitting  several  dense  clouds,  which 
almost  obscured  him  when  I  told  him  how  the  lightning  had 
liberated  the  corpse  and  how,  as  it  might  seem,  the  fiery  hand 
of  God  himself  had  delivered  the  body  of  the  malefactor  to 
the  weeping,  praying  mother. 

"  It  was  an  evil  moment  for  me  when  I  fell  in  with  that  gib- 
bet," said  I.  "  I  had  not  the  heart  to  leave  the  wretched 
mother,  though  my  first  instinct  on  catching  sight  of  her  was 
to  run  for  my  life.  But  I  thank  God  for  my  wonderful  pres- 
ervation; I  thank  Him  first  and  you  next,  Captain  Greaves." 

"  No  more  of  that.     We're  quits." 


/    VIEW   THE   BRIG.  45 

"It  is  clear  that  you  keep  a  bright  lookout  aboard  this 
brig." 

"  Had  your  life  depended  upon  the  eyes  of  my  men,  the  per- 
ishable part  of  you  would  have  been  by  this  time  concocted 
into  cod  and  crab.  I'll  introduce  you  to  the  individual  to  whom 
you  owe  your  life." 

He  opened  the  door  of  the  cabin  and  putting  a  silver  whistle 
to  his  lips  blew,  and  in  a  moment  a  fine  retriever  bounded 
in. 

"  Galloon,  Mr.  Fielding  ;  Mr.  Fielding,  Galloon." 

The  dog  wagged  his  tail  and  looked  up  at  me. 

"Did  he  go  overboard  after  me?"  said  I. 

"You  shall  hear.  It  was  break  of  day,  the  water  quiet,  the 
brig  under  all  plain  sail,  the  speed  some  five  knots.  I  was 
walking  the  quarter-deck,  and  there  was  a  man  on  the  forecastle 
keeping  a  lookout.  Suddenly  that  chap  Galloon  there" — 
here  the  "  chap  "  wagged  his  tail  and  looked  up  at  me  again  as 
though  perfectly  sensible  that  we  were  talking  about  him — 
"  sprang  on  to  the  taffrail  and  barked  loudly.  I  ran  aft  and 
looked  over,  but  not  having  a  dog's  eye  saw  nothing.  'What 
is  it,  Galloon  ?' said  I.  He  barked  again,  and  then  with  a 
short  but  most  piercing  and  lamentable  howl  he  sprang  over- 
board. I  love  that  dog  as  I  love  the  light  of  day,  Mr.  Fielding, 
much  better  than  I  lovedollars,and  better  than  I  love  many  ladies 
with  whom  I  am  acquainted.  The  brig  was  brought  to  the 
wind,  a  boat  lowered,  and  the  people  found  Galloon  with  his 
teeth  in  the  jacket  of  a  man  who  was  laying  over  an  oar."       x 

"The  noble  fellow  !  "  said  I,  looking  down  at  the  dog. 

Greaves  picked  him  up  and  put  his  head  over  the  edge  of 
the  hammock,  and  I  kissed  the  creature's  nose,  receiving  in 
return  a  caressing  lick  of  the  tongue  that  swept  my  face. 

"Why  do  you  call  him  Galloon  ?"  said  I. 

"  I  have  been  dreaming  of  galleons  all  my  life,"  he  answered. 

He  relighted  his  pipe  and  resumed  his  seat,  and  the  dog  lay 
at  his  feet,  gazing  up  at  me. 

"I  took  the  liberty,"  said  I,  "  of  asking  the  youth  called 
Jimmy  to  tell  me  what  port  this  brig  was  bound  to.  He 
answered  that  he  did  not  know." 

"He  does  not  know,"  said  Captain  Greaves.  "No  man  on 
board  the  Black  IVatch,  saving  myself,  knows  where  we  are  bound 
to." 

"  I  recollect  reading  in  that  newspaper  paragraph  I  have 
spoken  of  that  the  brig  is  owned  by  a  merchant  of  Amsterdam. 


4^  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

I  recollect  this  the  better  because  it  led  me  to  aslc  my  uncle, 
Captain  Round,  whether  a  British  letter  of  marque  would  be 
issued  to  a  foreigner  despite  his  sending  his  ship  a-privateering 
under  English  colors." 

"We  are  not  a  letter  of  marque.  It  is  perfectly  true  that 
this  brig  is  owned  by  an  Amsterdam  merchant.  His  name  is 
Bartholomew  Tulp,  and  he  is  my  stepfather." 

I  asked  no  more  questions.  I  would  not  seem  curious, 
though  there  was  something  in  Captain  Greaves'  reserve,  and 
something  in  the  enigmatic  character  of  this  ocean  errand, 
which  made  me  very  thirsty  to  hear  all  that  he  might  be  will- 
ing to  tell.  Never  had  I  heard  of  a  ship  manned  by  a  crew 
who  knew  not  whither  they  were  going.  I  speak  of  the  mer- 
chant service.  As  to  the  Royal  Navy,  the  obligation  of  sealed 
orders  must  always  exist  ;  but  when  a  man  enters  as  a  sailor 
aboard  a  merchantman,  the  first  and  most  natural  inquiry  he 
wishes  his  captain  to  answer  is,  "  Where  are  you  bound  to?" 

Greaves  sat  watching  me,  as  did  his  dog.  The  captain  smoked, 
with  a  countenance  of  abstraction  and  an  air  of  deep  musing, 
whilst  he  lightly  stroked  his  dog's  back  with  his  foot. 

"  My  mate  is  a  devil  of  a  fool !  "  he  exclaimed,  breaking  the 
silence  that  had  lasted  some  minutes.  "  He  is  a  Dutchman, 
and  his  name  is  Van  Laar,  He  speaks  English  very  well,  but 
he  is  no  sailor.  The  wind  headed  us  after  leaving  Amsterdam, 
and,  having  my  doubts  of  Van  Laar,  I  told  him  to  put  the  brig 
about,  and  she  missed  stays  in  his  hands.  Worse — when  she 
was  in  irons,  he  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  her.  I  abomi- 
nate the  rogue  who  misses  stays  ;  but  can  villainy  in  a  sailor 
go  much  further  than  not  knowing  what  to  do  when  a  ship  has 
missed  stays  ?" 

"  I  have  met,"  said  I,  "  with  some  fine  seamen  among 
Dutchmen." 

"  Van  Laar  is  not  one  of  them,"  he  answered.  "  Van  Laar 
is  no  more  to  be  trusted  with  a  ship  than  he  is  with  a  bottle  of 
hoUands.  He  does  not  scruple  to  own  that  he  hates  the  Eng- 
lish, and  I  do  not  like  to  sail  in  company  with  a  man  who  hates 
my  countrymen.  I  took  him  on  Mynheer  Tulp's  recommend- 
ation. I  was  opposed  to  shipping  a  Dutchman  in  the  capacity 
of  mate,  but  I  could  not  very  well  object  to  a  man  as  a  Dutch- 
man," said  he,  laughing,  "  to  Mynheer  Tulp." 

"Does  the  mate  know  where  the  brig  is  bound  to?"  I 
inquired. 

"No." 


/   VIEW   THE  BRIG.  47 

"  How  very  extraordinary  !  " 

He  looked  at  me  gravely ;  his  face  then  relaxed.  Find- 
ing his  pipe  out,  he  arose,  put  on  his  coat  and  cap,  and 
said  : 

"  I  will  leave  you  for  the  night.  What  do  you  fancy  for  your 
supper — what,  I  mean,  that  you,  as  a  sailor,  will  suppose  my 
brig's  larder  can  supply  ?  " 

I  answered  that  a  basin  of  broth  with  a  glass  of  brandy-and- 
water  would  make  me  an  abundant  supper. 

"  But  before  you  leave  me,"  said  I,  "  will  you  tell  me  where 
my  clothes  are?  I  must  hope  to  be  transhipped  to-morrow, 
and  to  step  ashore  with  nothing  on  but  a  blanket " 

"Your  clothes  have  been  dried  and  are  in  the  cabin,"  said 
he.  "  When  Jimmy  brings  your  supper  ask  him  for  your 
clothes.  And  now  good-night,  and  pleasant  dreams  to  you, 
Mr.  Fielding,  when  it  shall  please  you  to  fall  asleep." 

The  dog  sprang  through  the  door,  and  I  lay  with  my  eyes 
fixed  upon  the  flame  of  the  lamp,  diverting  myself  with  invent- 
ing schemes  of  a  vo3'-age,  one  of  which  should  fit  this  expedi- 
tion of  the  Black  IVaich. 

Early  next  morning  I  awoke  after  a  sound,  refreshing  night 
of  rest,  and,  dropping  out  of  my  hammock,  found  that  I  was 
pretty  nigh  as  hearty  as  ever  I  had  been  in  my  life.  Greatly 
rejoiced  by  this  discovery,  I  attired  myself  in  my  clothes, 
which  had  been  thorouglily  dried.  A  razor,  a  brush,  and  one 
or  two  other  conveniences  were  in  the  cabin.  I  was  struck  by 
Greaves'  kindness.  I  seemed  to  find  in  it  something  more 
than  an  expression  of  charitable  attention  and  grateful  memory. 
Now  being  dressed,  and  now  testing  myself  on  my  legs,  and 
finding  all  ship-shape  aboard,  from  the  loftiest  flying  pennant 
of  hair  down  to  the  soles  of  my  shoes,  I  opened  the  door  of  the 
berth  and  stood  awhile  looking  in  upon  the  cabin.  It  was  a  small 
snug  sea-interior,  well  lighted,  and  breezy  just  now  Avith  the 
cordial  gushing  of  wind  down  the  companion-hatch.  A  table 
and  a  few  seats  comprised  the  furniture  ;  those  things,  and  a 
lam]:>,  and  a  stand  of  small-arms,  and  some  cutlasses. 

While  I  viewed  tliis  interior  I  heard  Greaves'  voice  in  a 
cabin  on  the  starboard  side  forward. 

"Not  coffee,  but  cocoa  !  "  on  which  another  voice,  which  I 
recognized  as  the  lad  Jimmy's,  shouted  out,  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  howling  of  a  dog  : 

"  Not  coffee,  but  cocoa  !  " 

"  Again,"  said  the  voice  of  Captain  Greaves. 


48  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  Not  coffee,  but  cocoa,"  yelled  the  lad,  and  again  the  dog 
delivered  a  long  howl. 

"For  the  third  time,  if  you  please." 

"  Not  coffee,  but  cocoa  !  "  shrieked  the  lad,  and  the  accom- 
panying howl  of  the  dog  rose  to  the  key  in  which  the  boy 
pitched  his  voice,  as  though  in  excessive  sympathy  with  the 
shouter. 

A  door  forward  was  then  opened,  and  the  youth  Jimmy  came 
out.  He  stopped  on  seeing  me,  and  cried  out,  "  'Ere's  Mr. 
Fielding,"  and  then  went  on  deck.  Galloon  bounded  up  to  me, 
and  while  I  caressed  him  Greaves,  with  his  shirt  sleeves  turned 
up,  and  holding  a  hair-brush,  looked  out  of  his  door,  saw  me, 
approached,  and  shook  me  heartily  by  the  hand.  I  answered 
a  few  kind  questions,  and  asked  if  there  was  anything  in  sight 
from  the  deck. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  but  nothing  to  be  of  any  use  to  you.  You 
can  feel  the  heave.     It  blows  fresh." 

"It  is  a  very  buoyant  heave,"  said  I ;  "  I  should  imagine  you 
are  at  sea  with  a  swept  hold." 

He  continued  to  brush  his  hair. 

"Excuse  me,  is  your  lad  Jimmy  an  idiot?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  Perhaps  I  know  wliy  you  ask.  You  heard  me 
and  Galloon  giving  him  a  lesson  just  now.  Jimmy  Vinten  is 
no  idiot,  but  he  wants  a  faculty,  and  Galloon  and  I  are  en- 
deavoring to  create  it.  He  cannot  distinguish  dishes.  He 
will  put  a  bit  of  beef  on  the  table  and  call  it  pudding.  He'll 
knock  on  my  door  and  sing  out,  '  The  pork's  sarved,'  when  he 
means  pease  soup.  His  memory  is  remarkable  in  other  ways. 
Wait  a  minute,  and  we'll  go  on  deck  together." 

I  sat  upon  a  locker  to  talk  to  Galloon,  to  kiss  the  beast's 
cold  snout,  and  with  his  paw  in  my  hand,  while  his  tail  swayed 
like  the  naked  mast  of  an  oysterman  in  a  quick  sea,  I  thanked 
him  with  many  loving  words  for  having  saved  my  life.  His 
eye  languished  up  at  me.  Oh  !  if  ever  there  was  an  expression 
of  serene  and  heartfelt  satisfaction  in  the  eye  of  a  dog  that  for 
some  noble  action  is  being  thanked  with  caresses,  it  shone  in 
Galloon's  eyes  while  he  seemed  to  listen  to  me.  After  a  few 
minutes  Greaves  joined  me,  equipped  in  his  pea-coat,  fur  cap,  and 
top  boots — a  massive  privateering  figure  of  a  man,  handsome,  de- 
termined of  gaze,  yet  with  something  of  softness  in  his  looks,  and 
intimations  of  gentleness  in  the  motions  of  his  lips  and  in  his 
occasional  smile.  He  led  the  way  up  the  companion  steps, 
and  I  stood  upon  the  deck  of  the  brig  looking  about  me. 


/  F/£IV   THE  BRIG.  49 

Seasoned  as  I  was  to  the  life  which  the  ocean  puts  into  the 
shipwright's  plank,  I  should  not  have  suspected,  from  the  motion 
of  the  vessel  only,  that  so  considerable  a  sea  was  running. 
The  wind  was  two  or  three  points  abaft  the  beam  ;  it  was 
blowing  half  a  gale — a  clear  gale.  The  clouds  were  flying  in 
bales  and  rags  of  wool  toward  the  pouring  southern  verge  of 
the  ocean  ;  the  dark  blue  brine,  sparkling  with  the  flying 
eastern  sunshine,  swelled  in  hills  to  the  brig's  counter,  and  the 
foam  swept  in  sheets  backward  from  each  rushing  head.  The 
brig  was  under  whole  topsails  and  a  topgallant  sail,  but 
abreast,  to  leeward,  was  another  brig  heading  north,  stripped 
to  a  single  band  of  main  topsail  and  a  double-reefed  forecourse 
— ay,  Jack,  the  square  foresail  and  mainsail  in  my  time  carried 
two  and  sometimes  three  reefs — and  the  beat  of  the  head  seas 
obscured  her  in  frequent  snowstorms  as  she  struggled  wildly 
aslant  amid  the  dark  blue  billows.  We  were  roaring  through 
the  water  at  ten  or  eleven  knots.  To  every  stoop  of  the  bows 
the  foam  rose  boiling  above  the  catheads,  with  a  mighty, 
thunderous  bursting  away  of  the  parted  seas  on  either  hand. 
Ships  in  those  times  made  a  great  noise  when  they  went  through 
the  water.  They  were  all  bow  and  beam,  and  anything  that 
was  over  took  the  form  of  stern,  immensely  square,  and  as 
clamorous  when  in  motion  as  any  other  part  of  the  ship.  The 
Black  Watch  would  be  laughed  at  as  a  cask  in  these  days,  but 
as  vessels  then  went  she  was  a  clipper.  Her  lines  were  toler- 
ably fine  at  the  entry  ;  then  her  bulk  rolled  whale-like  aft, 
with  the  copper  showing  two  feet  above  the  water-line,  and 
then  she  narrowed  into  a  clipper  run  to  the  deadwood  and  the 
sternpost.  Her  sheer  forward  gave  her  a  bold  bow.  I 
watched  her  for  a  few  minutes  as  she  rolled  over  the  seas — and 
I  was  sensible  that  Captain  Greaves'  eye  was  upon  me  as  I 
watched — and  I  thought  her  a  very  smart,  handsome,  powerful 
vessel,  tlie  sort  of  ship  a  freebooter  would  instantly  fall  in  love 
witli,  and  furiously  determine  to  possess  himself  of,  yea,  though 
a  pennant  shook  at  her  masthead. 

She  was  armed  on  the  forecastle  with  a  long  brass  eighteen- 
pounder,  pivoted  ;  on  the  main  deck  with  four  nine-pound 
carronades,  two  of  a  side  ;  and  aft  with  a  second  long  brass 
eighteen-pounder,  likewise  pivoted.  She  carried  three  boats — 
one  stowed  in  another  abaft  the  caboose,  and  a  big  boat  chocked 
and  lashed  abreast  of  the  other  two  boats.  Her  decks  were 
very  white  ;  the  brass  pieces  flashed,  and  there  was  a  sparkle 
of  glass  over  the  cabin,  and  a  frosty  brilliancy  of    brine  all 


so  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

about  her  planks  as  you  see  in  white  sand  with  sunshine  upon 
it.  Her  sails  soared  square  with  a  great  hoist  of  topsail,  and 
the  cloths  might  have  been  stitched  for  a  man-of-war,  so  per- 
fect was  the  sit  and  spread  of  the  heads,  the  fit  of  the  clews  to 
the  yardarms. 

I  took  notice  of  the  men  ;  half  the  crew  were  on  deck 
cleaning  paint-work,  coiling  down,  differently  occupied.  They 
were  big,  burly  fellows  for  the  most  part,  variously  attired,  and 
as  I  watched,  one  of  them,  a  vast,  square,  carrotty  man,  called 
out  to  another  in  a  deep,  roaring  voice  ;  I  did  not  know  Dutch, 
but  what  that  man  said  sounded  very  much  like  Dutch,  and 
the  other  man  answered  him  in  the  same  tongue. 

And  now,  having  looked  at  the  sea,  and  at  the  brig,  and  at 
such  of  the  crew  as  were  visible  forward,  I  directed  my  eyes  at 
the  figure  of  an  individual  who  was  walking  to  and  fro  in  the 
gangway.  He  was  the  mate,  Van  Laar  ;  as  burly  as  the  bur- 
liest of  the  figures  forward,  his  eyes  small,  black,  and  fierce,  his 
face  a  mass  of  flesh,  in  the  midst  of  which  was  set  an  aquiline 
nose,  whose  outline  in  profile  was  hidden  by  the  swell  of  the 
cheek  as  you  lose  sight  of  the  line  of  a  ship's  sail  past  some 
knoll  of  brine.  He  had  not  the  least  appearance  of  a  sailor  : 
was  not  even  dressed  as  a  sailor  ;  looked  as  though  he  had 
just  arrived  out  of  the  country  in  a  cart  to  buy  or  sell  eggs 
and  butter  in  Amsterdam  market. 

I  observed  that  his  behavior  grew  uneasy  while  I  gazed 
about  me,  Greaves  at  my  side  receiving  from  me  from  moment 
to  moment  with  a  countenance  of  complacency  some  morsel 
of  appreciative  criticism.  That  Dutch  mate.  Van  Laar,  I  say 
grew  uneasy.  He  darted  glances  of  suspicion  at  me.  I  never 
would  have  supposed  that  any  human  eyes  set  in  so  much  fat 
should  have  possessed  the  monkey-like  nimbleness  of  that 
man's.  At  the  same  time  I  noticed  that  he  seemed  to  pull 
himself  togetlier  after  the  captain  had  stepped  on  deck.  He 
shook  the  laziness  out  of  his  step,  directed  frequent  looks 
aloft,  eyed  the  men  as  though  to  make  sure  there  was  no  skulk- 
ing, and  in  several  ways  discovered  a  little  life.  But  his  heart 
was  not  in  it  ;  his  business  was  not  here. 

The  captain  and  I  paced  the  deck.  Even  as  we  started  to 
walk,  the  boatswain,  one  of  the  burliest  of  the  Dutchmen, 
piped  the  hands  to  breakfast.  Tlie  silver  notes  rang  cheerily 
through  the  little  ship  and  wonderfully  heightened  to  the  fancy 
the  airy,  saucy,  free-born  look  of  the  timber  witch  as  she  thun- 
dered along  with  foam  to  her  figure-head  ;  her  white  pinions 


/    F/EJ^V    THE   BRIG.  5 1 

beat  time  to  the  organ  melodies  of  the  ocean  wind  ;  smoke 
hospitably  blew  from  the  chimney  of  her  little  caboose  ;  Dutch 
and  English  sailors  entered  and  departed  from  that  sea  kitchen, 
carrying  cans  of  steaming  tea  with  them  into  their  forecastle  ; 
there  was  a  pleasant  noise  of  the  chuckling  of  hens ;  the  sun 
shone  brightly  among  the  wool-white  clouds  ;  splendid  was  the 
spacious  scene  of  sea  rolling  in  sparkling  deeply-blue  heights, 
and  every  surge,  as  it  ran,  magnificently  draped  itself  in  a 
flashing  veil  of  froth. 

"  I  like  your  little  ship,  Captain  Greaves,"  said  I. 

"  I  have  been  watching  you,  and  I  see  that  you  like  her,"  he 
answered. 

"  You  carry  two  formidable  pieces  in  those  brass  guns." 

"  We  may  pick  up  something  worth  defending." 

He  then  asked  me  how  long  I  had  been  at  sea,  and  put  many 
questions  which  at  the  time  of  his  asking  them  struck  rae  as 
entirely  conversational :  that  is  to  say,  he  led  me  to  talk  about 
myself,  and  the  impression  produced  was  that  we  chatted  as  a 
couple  of  men  would  who  talked  to  kill  time  ;  but,  afterward, 
in  thinking  of  this  conversation,  I  found  that  it  had  been 
adroitly,  but  absolutely  inquisitional — on  his  part.  In  fact,  I 
not  only  related  the  simple  story  of  my  career  ;  I  acquainted 
him  with  other  matters,  such  as  my  attainments  as  a  navigator, 
my  ignorance  as  a  linguist,  my  qualifications  as  a  seaman — 
and  all,  forsooth,  as  tliough,  instead  of  killing  the  time  till 
breakfast  with  idle  chat,  I  was  very  earnestly  submitting  my 
claims  to  him  for  some  post  aboard  his  brig. 

While  we  walked  and  talked  I  remarked  that  he  kept  the 
Dutch  mate  in  the  corner  of  his  eye,  but  he  never  addressed 
him.  Once  he  found  the  brig  half  a  point,  perhaps  more  than 
half  a  point,  off  her  course.  He  spoke  strongly  and  sternly  to 
the  man  at  the  helm,  but  never  a  word  did  he  say  to  Van  Laar, 
whom  to  be  sure  he  should  have  reprimanded  for  not  conning 
the  brig.     I  thought  this  silence  very  significant. 

Presently  the  lad  Jimmy — I  called  him  a  lad  ;  his  age  was 
about  seventeen — this  lad  came  out  of  the  caboose  with  the 
cabin  breakfast.  His  knock-kneed  legs  seemed  to  have  been 
created  for  the  carriage  of  a  tray  full  of  crockery  and  eatables 
along  a  sharply  heaving  deck.  Galloon  trotted  out  of  the 
caboose  at  the  youth's  heels,  and  they  descended  into  the  cabin 
together.  Presently  Jimmy  arrived  to  announce  breakfast,  and 
with  him  was  Galloon. 

*'What  is  there  for  breakfast?  "  inquired  Captain  Greaves. 


52  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

"  There's  sausage  and  'am  and  tea,"  answered  the  lad. 

"  Nothing  of  the  sort,"  said  Greaves.  "  There  is  no  sausage 
aboard  this  ship,  and  I  ordered  neither  '  'am,'  as  you  call  it,  nor 
tea.     Say  eggs  and  bacon  and  coffee." 

The  lad  put  himself  in  the  position  of  a  soldier  at  attention. 

"  Say  eggs  and  bacon  and  coffee,"  he  shouted  ;  and  the  dog 
howled  in  company  with  the  youth. 

"  Again,  if  you  please." 

"  Say  eggs  and  bacon  and  coffee,"  roared  the  lad  ;  and  the 
dog  increased  its  volume  of  howl  as  though  to  encourage  the 
youth  to  support  this  trial. 

"  A  third  time,  if  you  please." 

The  dog  began  before  the  lad  and  howled  horribly  while 
Jimmy  yelled,  "  Say  eggs  and  bacon  and  coffee." 

The  four  of  us  then  entered  the  cabin,  where  I  found  an  ex- 
cellent breakfast  prepared.  Galloon  sat  upon  a  chair  opposite 
me,  and  he  was  waited  upon  by  Jimmy  as  the  captain  and  I 
were. 

"You  are  treating  me  very  hospitably.  Captain  Greaves," 
said  I. 

"  I  am  happy  to  have  found  a  companion,"  he  answered. 
"After  Van  Laar" — he  stopped  with  a  look  at  the  skylight — 
"  Dern  Mynheer  Tulp,  though  he  is  my  step-father  and  the  one 
merchant  adventurer  in  this  undertaking.  How  sullen  and  ob- 
stinate is  the  Dutch  intellect!  Yet  who  but  Dutchmen  could 
have  reclaimed  a  bog  from  the  sea,  dried  it,  settled  it,  and 
flourished  on  it  ?" 

"  I  hope  this  weather  will  soon  moderate,"  said  I.  *'  I  am 
anxious  to  get  to  England." 

"  Of  course  you  are.     And  so  shall  I  be  anxious  presently." 

"Where  do  you  touch,  captain  ?  " 

"  Nowhere.  An  empty  ship  has  plenty  of  stowage  room,  and 
there  are  provisions  enough  aboard  to  last  such  a  crew  as  my 
people  number  as  long  a  time  as  would  make  two  or  three  of 
Anson's  voyages." 

"  Ah  !  "  thought  I  with  a  short  laugh,  with  the  velocity  of 
thought  founding  a  fancy  of  his  errand  upon  his  mention  of  the 
name  of  Anson,  and  upon  my  recollection  of  his  saying  that  he 
had  been  all  his  life  dreaming  of  galleons. 

"  What  amuses  you  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Galloon  there,"  said  I,  laughing  again  and  looking  at  the 
dog. 


A    STRANGE   STORY.  53 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A  STRANGE  STORY. 

When  we  had  breakfasted  Captain  Greaves  said  :  "  Will  you 
smoke  a  pipe  with  me  in  ray  cabin  ?  " 

"  With  much  pleasure,"  I  answered. 

"  First,  let  me  go  on  deck,"  said  he,  "  to  take  a  look  around. 
It  is  Yan  Bol's  watch  and  I  cannot  trust  Van  Laar  to  see  that 
the  deck  is  relieved  even  when  it  is  his  own  turn  to  come  below. 
Bol  is  my  carpenter,  bo'sun,  and  sailmaker.  He  stands  a  watch  ; 
but  that  sort  of  men  who  live  in  the  forecastle  and  eat  and  drink 
with  the  sailors  are  seldom  useful  on  the  quarter-deck.  Yet 
here  am  I  talking  gravely  on  such  matters  to  a  man  who  knows 
more  about  the  sea  than  I  do." 

With  that  he  stepped  on  deck.  1  kept  my  chair  and  talked 
with  Galloon  until  Greaves  returned.  He  then  conducted  me 
to  his  cabin.  It  was  a  large  cabin,  at  least  three  times  the  size 
of  the  berth  I  had  occupied  during  the  night.  It  was  on  the 
starboard  quarter,  well  lighted  and  cozily  furnished.  Here  was 
to  be  felt  at  its  fullest  the  heave  of  the  brig  as  she  swept  pitch- 
ing over  the  high  seas.  Whenever  she  stooped  her  stern  the 
roaring  waters  outside  foamed  about  our  ears.  The  kick  of  the 
rudder  thrilled  in  small  shocks  through  this  part  of  the  fabric, 
and  you  heard  the  hard  grind  of  the  straining  wheel  ropes  in 
their  leading  blocks  as  the  steersman  put  his  helm  up  or  down. 

Captain  Greaves  took  a  canister  of  tobacco  from  a  shelf  and 
handed  me  a  pipe.  We  filled  and  smoked.  He  bade  me  lay 
upon  a  locker  and  himself  sat  in  his  sleeping  shelf  or  bunk, 
which,  being  without  a  top  and  standing  at  the  height  of  a  knee 
from  the  deck,  provided  a  comfortable  seat.  We  discoursed 
awhile  on  divers  matters  relating  to  the  profession  of  the  sea. 
He  asked  me  to  examine  his  quadrant,  his  chronometer  (which 
he  said  was  the  work  of  the  maker  who  had  manufactured 
the  watch  that  Captain  Cook  had  taken  with  him  on  his  last 
voyage),  his  charts,  of  which  he  had  about  a  score  in  a  canvas 
bag,  and  certain  volumes  on  navigation.  These  things  I  ex- 
amined with  considerable  professional  interest.  While  I  looked 
his  eye  was  never  off  me.  He  appeared  to  be  deeply  ruminat- 
ing, and  he  smoked  with  an  odd  motion  of  his  jaw  as  though 
he  talked  to  himself.  When  I  was  once  more  seated  upon  the 
locker  he  said  : 

"  I  shall  cease  to  call  you  mister.     What  need  is  there  for 


54  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

formality  between  two  men  who  have  saved  each  other's 
life  ? " 

"  No  need  whatever." 

"Fielding,"  said  he,  looking  and  speaking  very  gravely,  "you 
have  greatly  occupied  my  thoughts  since  you  returned  to  con- 
sciousness yesterday,  and  since  I  discovered  that  you  were  not 
a  half-hanged  pirate  or  smuggler,  but  a  gentleman  and  an  Eng- 
lish sailor  after  my  own  heart.  I  mean  to  tell  you  a  very  curious 
story,  and  when  I  have  told  you  that  story  I  intend  to  make 
a  proposal  to  you.  You  shall  hear  what  errand  this  brig  is 
bound  on.  You  shall  learn  to  what  part  of  the  world  I  am 
carrying  her,  and  I  believe  you  will  say  that  you  have  never 
heard  of  a  more  romantic  nor  of  a  more  promising  undertak- 
ing." 

He  opened  the  door  of  his  berth  and  looked  out.  Van  Laar 
was  seated  at  the  table,  eating  his  breakfast.  Greaves  closed 
the  door  and  seated  himself  on  his  bed. 

"  Last  year,"  said  he,  "I  was  in. command  of  a  small  vessel 
named  the  Hero.  It  matters  not  how  it  happened  that  I  came 
to  be  at  the  Philippines.  There  I  took  in  a  small  lading  for 
Guayaquil.  When  about  sixty  leagues  to  the  south'ard  of  the 
Galapagos  Islands  we  made  land,  and  hove  into  view  an  island 
of  which  no  mention  was  made  in  any  of  the  charts  of  those  seas 
which  I  possessed.  There  was  nothing  in ///^/.  There  is  much 
land  yet  to  be  discovered  in  that  ocean.  I  have  no  faiih  in  any 
of  the  charts  of  the  Western  American  seaboard,  and  trust  to 
nothing  but  a  good  lookout.  We  hove  this  island  into  view, 
and  I  steered  for  it  with  a  leadsman  in  the  chains  on  either 
hand.  I  hoped  to  be  of  some  humble  service  to  the  navigator 
by  obtaining  the  correct  bearings  of  the  island  ;  but  I  had  no 
mind  to  delay  my  voyage  by  sounding,  saving  only  for  the  se- 
curity of  my  own  ship. 

"  We  sighted  the  island  soon  after  sunrise,  and  at  noon  were 
abreast  of  it.  It  was  a  very  remarkable  heap  of  rock,  much 
after  the  pattern  of  the  Galapagos,  gloomy  with  black  lava, 
and  the  land  consisted  of  masses  of  broken  lava,  compacted 
into  cliffs  and  small  conical  hills,  that  reminded  me  somewhat 
of  the  Island  of  Ascension.  I  examined  it  very  carefully  with 
a  telescope  and  beheld  tiees  and  vegetation  in  one  place,  but 
no  signs  of  human  life — no  signs  of  any  sort  of  life,  if  it  were 
not  for  a  number  of  turtle  or  tortoises  crawling  upon  the  beach 
and  looking  like  ladybirds  in  the  distance.  But,  as  we  slowly 
drew  past  the  island,  we  opened  a  sort  of  natural  harbor  formed 


A    STRANGE    STORY.  55 

by  two  long  lines  of  reef,  one  of  them  incurving  as  though  it 
was  a  pier  and  the  handiwork  of  man.  The  front  of  cliff  that 
overlooked  this  natural  harbor  was  very  lofty,  and  in  the  middle 
of  it  was  a  tremendous  fissure — a  colossal  cave — the  shape  of 
the  mouth  like  tlie  sides  of  a  roughly-drawn  letter  A.  Inside 
this  cave  'twas  as  dark  as  evening  ;  yet  I  seemed  with  my  glass 
to  obscurely  behold  something  within.  I  looked  and  looked, 
and  then  handed  the  telescope  to  the  mate,  who  said  there  was 
something  inside  the  cave.  It  resembled  to  his  fancy  the  scaf- 
folding of  a  building,  but  what  it  exactly  was  neither  of  us 
could  make  out. 

"  The  weather  was  very  quiet  ;  the  breeze  off  the  island,  as 
its  bearings  then  were  at  this  time  of  sighting  the  cave,  and  the 
water  within  the  natural  harbor  was  as  sheet-calm  as  polished 
steel.     I  said  to  the  mate  : 

"'We  must  find  time  to  examine  what  is  inside  that  cave. 
Call  away  four  hands  and  get  the  boat  over.  Keep  a  bright 
lookout  as  you  approach.  There  is  nothing  living  that  is  visible 
outside,  but  who  knows  what  may  be  astir  within  the  darkness  of 
that  tremendous  yawn?  At  the  first  hint  of  danger  pull  like 
the  devil  for  the  ship,  and  I  will  take  care  to  cover  your  retreat.' 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth.  Fielding,  the  sight  of  that  extraordi- 
nary cave  and  the  obscure  thing  within  it,  along  with  the  natural 
harbor,  as  I  call  it,  had  put  a  notion  into  my  head  fit,  to  be 
sure,  to  be  laughed  at  only  ;  but  the  notion  was  in  my  head,  and 
it  governed  me.  It  was  this  :  suppose  that  huge  cave,  I  thought 
to  myself,  should  prove  to  be  a  secret  dock  used  by  picaroons 
for  repairing  their  vessels  or  for  concealing  their  ships  under 
certain  conditions  of  hot  search  ?  .  Because,  you  see,  it  was  a 
cave  vast  enough  to  comfortably  berth  a  number  of  small  craft, 
and  their  people  would  keep  a  lookout ;  and  who  under  the 
skies  would  suspect  a  piratic  settlement  in  a  heap  of  cinders  1 
— So  I,  as  a  good,  easy,  ambling  merchantman — a  tyjie  of 
scores — come  sliding  close  in  to  have  a  look,  and  then  out 
spring  the  sea  wolves  from  their  lair,  storming  down  upon  their 
quarry  to  the  impulse  of  sweeps  three  times  as  long  as  that  oar 
upon  which  Galloon  saw  you  floating." 

He  paused  to  draw  brealli.  I  smiled  at  his  high-flown 
language. 

"Do  you  find  anything  absurd  in  the  notion  that  entered 
my  head  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Nothing  absurd  whatever.  You  sight  a  big  cave.  There 
is  something  inside  which  you   can't  make  out.     Why    should 


56  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

not  that  cave  be  a  pirates'  lair  of  the  fine  old,  but  almost  ex- 
tinct, type,  capable  of  vomiting  cut-throats  at  an  instant's 
notice,  just  as  any  volcanic  cone  of  your  island  might  heave  up 
smoke  and  redden  a  league  or  so  of  land  to  the  beach  with 
lava?" 

"  Good.  Fill  your  pipe.  There  is  plenty  of  tobacco  in  this 
brig.  I  brought  my  ship  to  the  wind  and  stopped  her  without 
touching  a  brace,  that  I  might  have  her  under  instant  command, 
and  the  boat,  with  my  mate  and  four  men,  pulled  to  the  island. 
While  she  was  on  the  road  we  put  ourselves  into  a  posture  of 
defense.  I  watched  the  boat  approach  the  entrance  to  the 
lines  of  reef.  She  hung  on  her  oars,  warily  advanced,  halted, 
and  again  advanced  ;  and  then  I  lost  sight  of  her.  She  was  a 
long  while  gone — a  long  while  to  my  impatience.  She  was 
gone  in  all  about  half  an  hour  ;  and  I  was  in  the  act  of  order- 
ing one  of  the  men  to  fire  a  musket  as  a  signal  of  recall,  when 
she  appeared  in  that  part  of  the  natural  harbor  that  was  visible 
from  the  deck.  The  mate  came  over  the  side;  his  face  was 
purple  with  heat  and  all  a-twitch  with  astonishment. 

"  '  The  most  wonderful  thing,  sir  !  '  he  cried. 

"  '  What  is  it  ? '  said  I. 

"  *  There's  a  ship  of  seven  hundred  tons  at  the  very  least,  hard 
and  fast  in  that  big  hole,  everything  standing  but  the  top- 
gallant masts,  which  look  to  me  as  if  they'd  been  crushed  away 
by  the  roof  of  the  cave.  Her  jib  boom  is  gone  and  the  end  of 
her  bowsprit  is  about  three  fathoms  distant  inside  from  the  en- 
trance.' 

"  '  Anybody  aboard  ?  '  I  asked. 

"  *  I  heard  and  saw  nothing,  sir,'  said  he. 

"  '  Did  you  sing  out  ?' 

"  *  I  sang  out  loudly.  I  hailed  her  five  times.  All  hands  of 
us  hailed,  and  nothing  but  our  own  voices  answered  us.' 

" '  How  the  deuce  comes  a  ship  of  seven  hundred  tons 
burthen  to  be  lying  in  that  hole  ? '  said  I. 

"  My  mate  was  a  Yorkshireman.  His  head  fell  on  one  side 
and  he  answered  me  not. 

'"Are  her  anchors  down?'  I  asked. 

"'Her  anchors  have  been  let  go,'  he  answered.  'The  star- 
board cable  appears  to  have  parted  inboard.  I  saw  nothing 
of  it  in  the  hawse-pipe.  There  are  a  few  feet  of  her  larboard 
cable  hanging  up  and  down.' 

"  '  Swing  your  topsail,'  said  I.  '  She  will  lie  quiet.  There  ig 
nothing  to  be  afraid  of  upon  that  island.' 


A    STRANGE    STORY.  57 

"  I  then  got  into  the  boat,  and  my  men  pulled  me  to  the 
mouth  of  the  piers  of  reef. 

"  1  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  appearance  of  these  reefs 
on  approaching  them.  They  looked  like  admirably  wrought 
breakwaters,  which  had  fallen  into  decay  but  were  still  ex- 
traordinarily strong,  very  rugged,  imposing,  and  serviceable. 
The  width  of  the  entrance  wa^  about  five  hundred  feet.  The 
water  was  smooth  as  glass,  clear  as  crystal,  and  when  I  looked 
over  the  side  I  could  see  here  and  there  the  cloudy  sheen  of 
the  bottom,  whether  coral  or  not  I  do  not  know — I  should  say 
not.  And  now,  right  in  front  of  me,  was  the  great  face  of 
gloomy-looking  cliff,  and  in  the  center  the  mighty  rift,  shaped 
like  that,"  said  he,  bringing  the  points  of  his  two  forefingers 
together  and  then  separating  his  hands  to  the  extent  of  the 
width  of  his  two  thumbs.  "  No  doubt  the  wonderful  cave  was 
a  volcanic  rupture.  The  height  of  the  entrance  was,  I  reckoned, 
about  two  hundred  feet,  and  the  breadth  of  it  at  its  base  about 
fifty.  It  stood  at  the  third  of  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  the 
natural  harbor.  I  could  see  but  little  of  the  ship  until  I  was 
close  to,  so  gloomy  was  the  interior  ;  but  as  the  men  rowed, 
features  of  the  extraordinarily  housed  craft  stole  out,  and  pres- 
ently we  were  lying  upon  our  oars  and  I  was  viewing  her,  the 
whole  picture  clear  to  my  gaze  as  an  oil  painting  set  in  the 
frame  of  the  cavern  entrance. 

"  She  was  a  lump  of  a  vessel  painted  yellow,  with  a  snake- 
like curl  of  cutwater  at  the  head  of  the  stem,  and  a  great  deal 
of  gilt  work  about  her  headboards  and  figurehead.     I  knew 
her  for  a  Spaniard  the  instant  I  had  her  fair.     She  had  heavy 
channels  and  a  wide  spread  of  lower  rigging.     Her  yards  were 
across,  but  pointed  as  though  she  had  ridden  to  a  gale,  and 
the  canvas  was  clumsily  furled  as  if  rolled  up  hurriedly  and  in 
a  time  of  confusion.     But  I  need  not  tease  you  with  a  minute 
description  of   her,"  said  he.     "It  was  easy  to  guess  how  it 
happened   that  she  was  in  this  amazing  situation.     Perfectly 
clear  it  was  to  me  that  she  had  sighted  this  island  at  night,  or 
in  dirty  weather,  when  the  land  was  too  close  aboard  for  a  shift 
of  the  helm  to  send  her  clear.     Once  in  the  harbor  her  com- 
mander, in  the  teeth  of  a  dead  inshore  wind,  could  not  get  out. 
What,  then,  was  to  be  done?     Here  w^as  a  place  of  shelter  in 
which  he  might  ride  until  a  shift  of  wind  permitted  him  to  pro- 
ceed on  his  voyage.     So,  as  I  make  the  story  run  to  my  own 
satisfaction,  he  let  go  his  anchor ;  but  scarcely  was  this  done 
when  it  came  on  to  blow,  the  canvas  was  hastily  furled  to  save 


58  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

the  strain,  but  she  dragged  nevertheless.  A  second  anchor 
was  let  go,  and  still  she  dragged — and  why  ?  Because,  as  a  cast 
of  the  lead  would  have  told  the  Spanish  captain,  the  ground 
was  as  hard  as  rock  and  as  smooth  as  marble,  and  there  was 
nothing  for  the  anchors  to  grip.  Dragging  with  her  head  to 
sea  and  her  stern  at  the  cliff's  huge  front,  the  ship  floats  foot  by 
foot  toward  the  cave,  threading  it  with  mathematical  precision. 
The  roof  of  the  cave  slants  rearward,  and  as  she  drifts  into 
the  big  hole  her  royal-mastheads  graze  and  take  the  roof  ;  the 
masts  are  crushed  away  at  the  crosstrees,  otherwise  all  is  well 
with  the  ship.  She  strands  gently,  and  is  steadied  by  her  top- 
mast heads  pressing  against  the  roof.  Thus  is  she  held  in  a  vise 
of  her  own  manufacture,  and  so  she  lies  snug  as  live  callipee 
and  callipash  in  their  top  and  bottom  armor.  That  must  be 
the  solution,  Fielding." 

"  Did  the  water  shoal  rapidly  in  the  cave  ?"  said  I. 

"Yes  ;  the  ship  lies  cradled  to  her  midship  section  ;  forward 
she  may  be  afloat.  But  there  she  lies  hard  and  fast  for  all  that, 
motionless  as  the  mass  of  rock  in  whose  heart  she  sleeps." 

"  You  boarded  her,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Certainly  I  boarded  her,"  continued  Greaves.  "  It  is  by  no 
means  so  dusky  inside  the  cave  as  it  appeared  to  be  when 
viewed  from  the  outside.  I  left  a  hand  to  attend  the  boat  and 
took  three  men  aboard.  I  believe  I  should  not  have  had  the 
spirit  to  enter  that  ship  alone.  By  Isten  !  but  she  did  show 
very  ghastly  in  that  gloom — very  ghastly  and  cold  and  silent, , 
with  the  appalling  silence  of  entombment.  No  noise — I  mean 
that  faint,  thunderous  noise  of  distant  surf — no  noise  of  breakers 
penetrated.  Well,  to  be  sure,  by  listening  you  might  now  and 
again  catch  a  drowning,  bubbling,  gasping  sound,  stealthily 
washing  through  the  black-water  in  the  cave  along  the  sides  of 
the  ship  ;  but  I  tell  you  that  I  found  the  stillness  inside  that 
cave  heart-shaking.  I  went  right  aft  and  looked  over  the  stern, 
and  there  it  was  like  gazing  into  a  tunnel.  How  far  did  the 
cavern  extend  abaft  ?  There  would  be  one  and  an  easy  way 
of  finding  that  out — by  rowing  into  the  blackness  and  burning 
a  flare  in  the  boat.  This  I  thought  I  would  do  if  I  could  make 
time. 

"  The  ship  was  a  broad,  handsome  vessel,  her  scantling  that 
of  a  second-rate  ;  she  mounted  a  few  carronades  and  swivels: 
clearly  a  merchantman,  and,  as  I  supposed,  a  plate-ship.  She 
had  a  large  roundhouse,  and  steered  by  a  very  beautifully  and 
curiously  wrought  wheel,  situated  a  little  forward  of  the  en- 


A    STRANGE    STORY.  59 

trance  to  tlie  roundhouse.  It  did  not  occur  to  me  that  she 
might  be  a  rich  ship  until  I  looked  into  the  roundhouse  ;  then 
I  found  myself  in  a  marine  palace  in  its  way.  Enough  of  that. 
The  sight  of  the  furniture  determined  me  upon  attempting  a 
brief  searcli  of  her  hold.  The  impulse  was  idle  curiosity — I 
should  have  believed  it  so  anyway.  I  had  not  a  fancy  in  my 
head  of  any  sort  beyond  a  swift  glance  of  curiosity  at  what 
might  be  under  hatches.  Yet,  somehow,  before  I  had  fairly 
made  up  my  mind  to  look  into  the  hold,  a  singular  hope,  a 
singular  resolution  had  formed,  flushing  me  from  head  to  foot 
as  though  I  had  drained  a  bottle  of  wine.  '  Look  if  that  lamp  be 
trimmed,'  said  I  to  a  man,  pointing  to  one  of  a  row  of  small, 
wonderfully  handsome  brass  lamps,  hanging  from  the  upper 
deck  of  the  roundhouse.  No,  it  was  not  trimmed.  The  rest 
of  tliem  were  untrimmed.  We  searclied  about  for  oil,  for 
wicks,  for  candles,  for  anything  that  would  show  a  light.  Then 
said  I  to  two  of  the  men,  '  Jump  into  the  boat  and  fetch  me  a 
lantern  and  candle.  Tell  the  mate  that  I  am  stopping  to  over- 
haul this  ship  for  her  papers,  to  get  her  story.' 

"  While  the  boat  was  gone  I  walked  about  the  decks  of  the 
vessel,  hardly  knowing  what  I  might  stumble  on  in  the  shape  of 
human  remains,  but  there  was  nothing  in  that  way.  The  boats 
were  gone,  the  people  had  long  ago  cleared  out.  Small  blame 
to  them.  Good  thunder  !  "  cried  he,  shuddering  or  counterfeit- 
ing a  shudder  ;  "  who  would  willingly  pass  a  night  in  such  a 
cave  as  that  ?  The  boat  came  alongside  with  the  lantern.  We 
then  lifted  the  hatches,  and  I  went  below.  Life  there  was  here, 
a  hideous  sort  of  life,  too.  Lean  rats  bigger  than  kittens,  living 
skeletons  horrible  with  famine.  They  shrieked,  they  squeaked, 
they  fled  in  big  shadows.  There  was  not  much  cargo  in  the 
main  hold,  but  cargo  there  was.  I  will  tell  you  exactly  the 
contents  of  the  main  hold  of  La  Perfecia  Casada,"  he  ex- 
claimed, coming  out  of  his  bed,  opening  a  drawer,  and  taking 
out  a  small  book  clasped  by  an  elastic  band.     He  read  aloud, 

"  Five  thousand  serons  of  cocoa " 

"A  minute,"  said  L  "Do  I  understand  you  to  mean  that 
you  counted  five  thousand  serons  of  cocoa  while  you  looked 
into  the  hold  of  that  ship,  the  hour  being  about  two  o'clock — 
I  have  been  following  you  critically — and  your  own  ship  hove 
to  close  in  w-ith  the  land  ?" 

"  Patience,"  said  he  ;  "it  is  a  reasonable  objection,  but  as  a 
rule  I  do  not  like  to  be  interrupted  when  I  am  telling  a  story. 
Five  thousand  serons  of  cocoa "  he  repeated. 


6o  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  Pray,"  said  I,  forgetting  that  he  did  not  like  to  be  inter- 
rupted, "  what  is  a  seron  ?  " 

"  A  seron  is  a  crate." 

"Well,  sir?" 

"  Sixty  aiobes  of  alpaca  wool " 

"What  is  an  arobe?" 

"An  arobe  is  twenty-five  pounds."  lie  continued  to  read  : 
"One  thousand  quintals  of  tin  at  one  hundred  pounds  per 
quintal  ;  four  casks  of  tortoiseshell,  eight  thousand  hides  in 
the  hair,  four  thousand  tanned  hides,  and  a  quantity  of  cedar 
planks." 

He  now  looked  at  me  as  though  he  expected  me  to  speak. 
I  addressed  him  as  follows  :  "  What  I  am  listening  to  is  a  very 
interesting  stoiy.  It  is  an  adventure,  and  I  love  adventures. 
It  is  said  that  the  charm  of  the  sailor's  life  lies  in  its  being 
made  up  of  adventures.  That  is  a  lie.  Men  pass  many  years 
at  sea  and  meet  with  no  adventures  worth  speaking  of.  A 
sailor's  life  is  a  very  mechanical,  monotonous  routine." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  cargo  of  La  Perfecta  Casada  ?  " 

"  Za  Perfecta  Casada  is  the  name  of  the  sliip  in  the  cave  ? " 

"Yes,"  he  answered. 

"It  is  a  very  good  cargo  so  far  as  it  goes,  but  there  is  very 
little  of  it." 

"  There  is  enough,"  said  he,  with  a  gesture  of  his  hand.  "I 
should  be  very  pleased  to  be  able  to  pay  the  value  of  that 
cargo  into  my  banking  account." 

I  made  no  remark,  and  he  proceeded  :  "  When  I  had  taken 
a  peep  into  the  main  hold  I  caused  the  after  hatch  under  the 
roundhouse  to  be  raised,  and  here  I  found  a  number  of  cases. 
They  were  stowed  one  on  top  of  another,  with  pieces  of  timber 
betwixt  them  and  the  ship's  lining — an  awkward  looking  job 
of  stevedoring,  but  good  enough,  no  doubt,  to  satisfy  a  Spanish 
sailor.  I  left  my  men  above,  and  descended  alone  into  this 
part  of  the  hold,  and  stood  looking  for  a  short  time  around  me, 
roughly  calculating  the  number  of  these  cases,  the  contents  of 
which  I  could  not  be  perfectly  sure  of,  though  one  of  two 
things  I  knew  those  contents  must  consist  of.  I  called  up 
through  the  hatch  to  the  men  to  hunt  about  the  ship  and  find 
me  a  chopper  or  saw,  and  presently  one  of  them  handed  me 
down  an  ax.  I  put  down  the  lantern,  and  letting  fly  at  the 
first  of  the  cases,  with  much  trouble  split  open  a  part  of  the 
lid.  I  would  not  satisfy  myself  that  all  those"  cases  were 
full  until  I  had  split  the  lids  of  five  as  tests  or  samples  of  the 


A    STRANGE   STORY.  6 1 

lot.  Then  finding  that  those  five  cases  were  full,  I  concluded 
that  the  rest  were  full.  To  make  sure,  however,  I  beat  upon 
many  of  them,  and  the  sound  returned  satisfied  me  that  the 
cases  were  heavily  full." 

"  Of  what  ?  "  said  I. 

"My  men,"  he  continued,  taking  no  notice  of  my  interrup- 
tion, "were,  no  doubt,  considerably  astonished  to  observe  me 
hacking  at  the  cargo  with  a  heavy  ax,  as  though  I  had  fallen 
mad,  and  splintering  and  smashing  up  what  I  saw  through 
sheer  lunatic  wantonness.  I  did  not  care  what  they  thought 
so  long  as  they  did  not  form  correct  conclusions.  1  regained 
the  deck,  and  bid  the  fellows  put  the  hatches  on  while  I  ex- 
plored the  cabins  for  the  ship's  papers.  There  was  a  number 
of  cabins  under  tlie  roundhouse,  and  in  one  of  them,  which 
had,  undoubtedly,  been  occupied  by  the  captain,  I  found  a 
stout  tin  box,  locked  ;  but  I  had  a  bunch  of  keys  in  my  pocket, 
and,  strangely  enough,  the  key  of  a  tin  box  in  which  I  kept 
my  own  papers  on  board  the  Hero  fitted  this  box.  I  opened 
it,  and  seeing  at  once  that  the  contents  were  the  ship's  papers, 
I  put  them  into  my  pocket  and  called  to  my  men  to  bring  the 
boat  alongside.  But  I  had  not  yet  completed  my  explorations. 
I  threw  the  ax  into  the  boat,  entered  her,  and  pulled  into  the 
harbor  to  look  at  the  weather  and  to  see  where  the  Hero  was. 
The  Hero  lay  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  hove-to.  The  weather 
was  wonderfully  fine  and  calm.  We  pulled  into  the  cave  again 
to  the  bows  of  the  ship,  and  cut  off  a  short  length  of  the  hemp 
cable  that  was  hanging  up  and  down  from  the  hawse-pipe, 
having  parted  at  about  two  feet  above  the  edge  of  the  water. 
The  cable  was  perfectly  dry.  We  unlaid  the  strands  and 
worked  them  up  into  torches  and  set  fire  to  three  of  them — 
that  is  to  say,  I  and  two  of  the  men  held  aloft  these  blazing 
torches,  while  the  other  two  pulled  us  slowly  into  the  cave  past 
the  ship.  There  was  not  much  to  see  after  all.  The  cavern 
ended  abruptly  at  about  a  hundred  yards  astern  of  the  ship. 
The  roof  sloped,  as  I  had  supposed,  almost  to  the  wash  of  the 
water,  it  and  the  walls  working  into  the  shape  of  a  wedge.  I 
had  thought  to  see  some  fine  formations — stalactites,  natural 
columns,  extraordinary  incrustations,  and  so  forth.  There 
was  nothing  of  the  sort.  The  cave  was  as  like  the  tunneling 
of  a  coal  mine  as  anything  I-can  think  of  to  compare  it  with  ; 
but  how  gigantic,  to  comfortably  house  a  vessel  of  at  least  seven 
hundred  tons,  finding  room  for  her  aloft  to  the  height  of  her 
topmast  head  I     It  was  more  like  a  nightmare  than  a  reality. 


62  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

to  look  from  the  black  extremity  of  the  cave  toward  the 
entrance,  and  see  there  the  dim  green  of  the  day — for  the  light 
showed  in  a  faint  green — with  the  upright  fabric  of  the  ship 
black  as  ink  against  that  veil  of  green  faintness.  The  water 
brimmed  with  a  gleam  as  of  black  oil  to  the  black  walls.  One 
of  my  men  said  : 

"'Suppose  it  was  to  come  on  to  blow  hard,  dead  inshore 
how  would  it  fare  with  that  ship,  sir  ? ' 

'"What  could  happen  to  hurt  her  ?*  I  answered.  'Never 
could  a  great  sea  run  within  the  ^.irriers  of  reefs,  and  no  swell 
to  stir  the  ship  can  come  out  o.  Uiat  sheltered  space  of  water, 
and  keep  its  weight  inside.' 

"  In  truth,  I  talked  to  satisfy  myself,  and  satisfied  I  was. 
Not  the  worst  hurricane  that  sweeps  those  seas  can  stir  or 
imperil  that  vessel  as  she  lies.  She  is  as  safe  as  a  live  toad  in 
a  rock,  and  will  perish  only  from  decay." 

"  But  do  her  people  mean  to  leave  her  there?  "  said  I. 

"We  may  assume  so,"  he  answered,  "seeing  that  she  was  en- 
caved,  as  far  as  I  can  reckon  from  the  dates  of  her  papers,  in 
or  about  the  month  of  August,  iSio." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A    STARTLING    PROPOSAL. 

Captain  Greaves,  having  pronounced  the  words  with  which 
the  last  chapter  concludes,  came  out  of  his  bed-place  and 
opened  the  cabin  door.  Galloon  entered.  The  captain  stood 
looking.  Mr.  Van  Laar  was  still  at  breakfast.  Captain 
Greaves  and  I  had  been  closeted  for  a  very  considerable  time, 
yet  Van  Laar  still  continued  to  eat  at  table,  and  even  as  I 
looked  at  him  through  the  door  which  the  captain  held  open,  I 
observed  that  he  raised  a  large  mouthful  of  meat  to  his  lips. 
Captain  Greaves  exclaimed,  "I  am  going  on  deck  to  look  after 
the  brig,  I  shall  be  back  in  a  few  minutes."  He  then  closed 
the  door,  and  I  occupied  the  time  during  which  he  was  absent 
in  patting  Galloon  and  thinking  over  my  companion's  narra- 
tive. 

As  yet  I  failed  to  see  the  object  of  his  voyage.  Could  it  be 
that  that  object  was  to  warp  the  Si)anish  ship  out  of  the  cave 
and  navigate  her  home  ?  I  might  have  supposed  this  to  be  his 
intention  had  his  brig  been  full  of  men  ;  but  Greaves'  crew 
were  below  the  brig's  complement  as  the  average  ran  in  those 


A    STARTLING  PROPOSAL.  (>2, 

days  of  teeming  'tween-decks  and  crowded  forecastles,  and 
they  were  much  too  few  to  do  anything  with  a  ship  of  seven 
hundred  tons  ashore  in  a  cave  ;  unless,  indeed,  Greaves  meant 
to  ship  a  number  of  hands  when  on  the  Western  American 
seaboard. 

He  returned  after  an  absence  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

"  I  have  stripped  her  of  the  main  topgallant  sail,"  said  he; 
"  Yan  Bol  has  the  watch.  I  will  tell  vou  what  I  like  about 
Yan  Bol — he  has  the  throat  of  a  cannon  ;  he  does  not  shout, 
he  explodes.  He  sends  an  order  like  a  twenty-four-pound  ball 
slinging  aloft.     I'he  wind  of  his  cry  niight  beat  down  a  sheep." 

"  Van  Laar  enjoys  his  food,"  said  I. 

"Van  Laar  is  a  gorging  baboon,"  he  exclaimed;  "but  he 
shall  not  long  be  a  gorging  baboon  in  my  cabin  or  even  on 
board  my  ship." 

He  resumed  his  seat  in  his  bed,  and,  pulling  from  his  pocket 
the  little  book  from  which  he  had  read  the  particulars  of  the 
cargo  in  the  main  hold  of  La  Perfecta  Casada,  he  fastened  his 
eyes  upon  a  page  of  it,  mused  a  while,  and  proceeded  thus  : 

"  We  left  the  Spanish  ship,  pulled  clear  of  the  reef,  and  got 
aboard  the  Hero.  I  called  my  mate  to  me,  told  him  that  the 
island  was  uncharted,  and  that  it  behoved  us  to  clearly  ascer- 
tain its  situation  in  order  to  correctly  report  its  whereabouts. 
Together  we  went  to  work  to  determine  its  position  ;  our  cal- 
culations fairly  tallied,  and  I  was  satisfied.  I  then  ordered  sail 
to  be  trimmed,  and  we  proceeded  on  our  voyage.  When  the 
ship  had  fairly  started  afresh  I  went  into  my  cabin  and  exam- 
ined the  papers  I  had  brought  off  the  Casada.  Those  papers 
were,  of  course,  written  in  Spanish.  Though  I  speak  Spanish 
very  imperfectly,  almost  unintelligibly,  I  can  make  tolerable 
headway,  with  the  help  of  a  dictionary,  when  I  read  it.  I  pos- 
sessed an  English-Spanish  dictionary,  and  I  sat  down  to  trans- 
late the  Casada' s  papers.  Then  it  was  that  I  discovered  there 
were  five  thousand  serons  of  cocoa  among  the  cargo,  I  did 
not  count  those  serons  when  I  was  on  board." 

"  I  understand."  • 

"  The  particulars  I  have  here,"  said  he,  slapping  the  book, 
"  were  in  the  manifest ;  but  there  was  more  than  cocoa  and 
wool  and  tin  in  that  ship — very  much  more.  The  cases  in  the 
after-hold  were  full  of  silver — I  had  hoped  for  gold  when  I 
sang  out  to  my  men  to  seek  an  ax  ;  but  silver  it  proved  to  be, 
and  the  papers  I  examined  in  my  cabin  told  me  that  those 
cases  contained  in  all  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  milled 


64  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Spanish  dollars  of  the  value,  in  our  money,  of  four  shillings 
and  ninepence  apiece,  though  I  am  willing  to  reduce  that  quo- 
tation and  call  the  sum,  in  English  money,  ninety-eight  thou- 
sand pounds." 

I  opened  my  eyes  wide.  "  Ha  !  "  said  I,  "  now  I  think 
you  need  tell  me  no  more.  This  brig  is  going  to  fetch  the 
money." 

"  That  is  the  object  of  the  voyage." 

"  Your  men  as  yet  don't  know  where  they  are  bound  to  ?  " 

"  Not  as  yet.  I  do  not  intend  that  they  shall  know  for  some 
time.  I  want  to  see  what  sort  of  men  they  are  going  to  prove. 
They  shipped  on  the  understanding  that  I  sailed  under  secret 
orders  from  the  brig's  owner,  and  that  those  orders  would  not 
be  revealed  until  we  had  crossed  the  equator." 

"Van  Laar  knows  nothing,  then?  " 

*'  No  more  than  the  lad  Jimmy.  If  he  did — but  the  cormo- 
rant shant  know." 

"  Ninety-eight  thousand  pounds  !  "  quoth  I,  opening  my  eyes 
again. 

"  There  are  several  fortunes  in  ninety-eight  thousand 
pounds,"  said  he,  smiling. 

"You  spoke  of  a  gentleman  named  Tulp." 

"  Bartholomew  Tulp,  my  step-father.  I  will  finish  ray  story. 
I  had  plenty  of  time  for  reflection,  for  my  voyage  home  was 
long.  I  made  up  my  mind  to  get  those  dollars.  I  was  satis- 
fied that  the  money  would  remain  as  safely  for  years,  ay,  for 
centuries  if  you  like,  where  it  lay  as  if  it  had  been  snugged 
away  in  some  secret  part  of  the  solid  island  itself.  There  was, 
indeed,  the  risk  of  others  sighting  the  island,  landing,  discover- 
ing the  ship,  exploring,  and  tlien  looting  her.  That  risk  re- 
mains the  single  element  of  speculation  in  this  adventure.  But 
what,  commercially,  is  not  speculative  in  the  Change  Alley 
meaning  of  the  term  ?  You  buy  Consols  at  seventy  ;  next  day 
the  city  is  pale  with  news  which  sinks  the  funds  to  fifty.  Span- 
ish dollars  to  the  value  of  ninety-eight  thousand  pounds  lie  in 
the  hold  of  a  sliip  encaved  in  an  island  south  of  the  Galapagos. 
Is  fortune  going  to  suffer  them  to  stay  tliere  till  we  arrive  ?  I 
say  'yes.'  You,  as  a  seafaring  man,  will  say  '  yes.'  You  know 
that  vessels  sighting  that  island  will,  seeing  that  it  is  not  down 
on  the  charts,  or  else  most  incorrectly  noted — for  no  land 
where  that  island  is  do  I  find  marked  upon  the  Pacific  charts 
which  I  have  consulted — I  say  you  will  know  that  vessels  sight- 
ing that  island  will  give  it  a  wide  berth  for  fear  of  the  sound- 


A    STARTLING  PROPOSAL.  65 

ings.  You  will  suppose  that  if  a  vessel  should  find  herself  un- 
expectedly close  in  with  that  land  her  people  will  see  nothing 
in  a  mountainous  mass  of  cinder  to  court  them  ashore.  You 
will  hold  that  even  supposing  a  thousand  ships  should  pass  the 
island  within  the  date  of  my  proceeding  on  my  voyage  from  it 
in  the  Hei-o  and  the  date  of  my  arrival  off  the  island  in  this 
brig  Black  Watch,  there  are  ninety-nine  chances  against  every 
one  of  those  thousand  ships  so  opening  the  land  as  to  catch  a 
sight  of  the  vessel  in  the  cave.  The  cave  itself  looks  at  a  dis- 
tance like  a  vast  shadow  or  smudge  upon  the  front  of  the  cliff. 
You  must  enter  the  natural  harbor,  and  pull  close  to  the  mouth 
of  the  cavern,  to  behold  the  ship.  Yes,  it  is  true  that  the  tele- 
scope will  at  a  distance  resolve  the  darkness  of  the  cave  into  a 
something  that  is  indeterminable,  but  that  is  more  than  mere 
shadow.  But  that  this  may  be  done  a  ship  must  be  in  the  ex- 
act situation  the  Hero  was  in  when  I  happened  to  point  the 
glass  at  the  cave,  and  I  say  there  are  ninety-nine  chances 
against  any  one  of  a  thousand  ships  being  in  the  exact  situation. 
The  money  in  the  Casadas  hold  is  there  now,  has  been  there 
since  1810,  and  but  for  me,  might  be  there  until  the  ship  falls 
to  pieces  with  decay.     What  do  you  say  ?  " 

"  Those  waters  are  but  little  navigated,"  said  I.  "  All  the 
chances  you  name  are  against  a  vessel  sighting  your  Casada  as 
she  lies  in  her  shell  according  to  your  description.  I  am  of 
your  opinion.  The  money  is  there  and  will  remain  there. 
The  mere  circumstances  of  those  dollars  having  been  a  secret 
of  the  island  for  four  years  is  warrant  enough  to  satisfy  any 
man  that  the  island  will  continue  to  keep  what  is  now  yo^ir 
secret." 

He  looked  extremely  gratified,  and  continued  : 

"  How  was  I  to  proceed  in  the  adventure  that  I  was  deter- 
mined to  embark  on  ?  I  am  a  sailor,  which  means,  of  course, 
that  I  am  a  poor  man." 

"Just  so,"  said  I. 

"  My  mother  has  been  dead  eight  years.  Of  late  I  had  seen 
and  heard  but  little  of  my  step-father.  I  was  aware,  however, 
that  he  was  doing  a  very  good  trade  as  a  merchant  in  Amster- 
dam. It  occurred  to  me  to  propose  the  adventure  to  him,  and 
when  I  had  finished  my  business  witli  the  Hero  in  the  Thames 
I  went  across  to  Amsterdam,  with  the  Casada  s  papers  in  my 
bag,  and  passed  a  week  with  Mynheer  Bartholomew  Tulp.  I 
needed  a  week,  and  a  week  of  seven  long  days,  to  bring  the  old  man 
into  my  way  of  thinking.      Tulp  has  Jewish  blood  in  him,  and  the 


66  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEM! 

blood  of  the  Jew  is  as  thick  as  glue.  A  'rulp,  four  generations 
ago,  married  a  Jewess.  The  descendants  have  ever  since  been 
marrying  Christians,  but  it  will  take  many  generations  to  ex- 
tinguish in  the  Tulps  the  Mosaic  beak,  the  Aaronic  eye,  the 
Solomon  leer,  the  Abrahamic  wariness  which  entered  into  the 
Tulps,  four  generations  ago,  with  honest  Rachael  Sweers.  First 
Tulp  wanted  to  know  how  I  proposed  to  get  the  money.  By 
hiring  a  small  vessel  and  sailing  to  the  island.  How  much  was 
he  to  have  ?  He  must  make  his  own  terms.  How  much  would 
I  expect  ?  I  was  in  his  hands.  Supposing,  when  the  money 
was  on  board,  the  crew  rose  and  cut  my  throat  ?  That  was  a 
peril  of  the  sea.  He  could  protect  his  outlay  by  insurance,  the 
cost  of  which  he  was  welcome  to  deduct  from  my  share  of  the 
dollars  should  I  bring  the  spoil  home  in  safety. 

"  He  was  so  full  of  objections  that  on  the  morning  of  the 
sixth  day  of  my  stay  at  his  house  I  flung  from  him  in  a  rage. 
'  I  know  what  you  zvant,'  I  told  him  :  'you  want  the  silver  and 

you  don't  want  to  pay  for  it.     I  will  see  you '  and  I  damned 

him  in  the  names  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  He  is  a  little 
man  :  he  arose  from  a  velvet  armchair,  and  following  me  on 
tiptoe  as  I  was  leaving  the  room,  he  put  his  hand  upon  my 
shoulder  and  said  in  a  soft  voice,  '  Michael,  how  much  ? '  To 
cut  this  long  yarn  S'hort,  he  commissioned  me  to  seek  a  vessel, 
and  when  I  had  found  the  sort  of  ship  I  wanted  I  was  to  enter 
into  a  calculation  of  the  cost  of  the  adventure  and  let  him 
know  the  amount  I  should  need  within  as  few  guilders  as  pos- 
sible.    That  is  the  story." 

*'  It  is  a  very  remarkable  story.  I  am  flattered  by  your  confid- 
ing this  secret  to  me." 

"  It  was  necessary,"  he  answered. 

I  did  not  see  that,  but  I  let  the  remark  pass.  "Where  did 
you  meet  with  this  brig  ?  " 

"  She  is  owned  by  a  friend  of  mine  who  lives  at  Sliadwell. 
I  was  thinking  all  the  way  home  of  the  Black  Watch  as  the 
ship  for  my  purpose,  and  strangely  enough,  among  the  vessels 
lying  near  me  in  the  Pool  when  I  brought  up  was  this  brig.  In 
London  I  shipped  the  English  sailors  we  have  on  board  and 
sailed  for  Amsterdam  at  the  request  of  Tulp,  who  desired  to 
victual  and  equip  the  ship  himself.  He  put  Van  Laar  upon 
me,  on  some  friend's  recommendation,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
hands — much  too  few,  but  the  spirit  of  Rebecca  Sweers  sweats 
like  a  demon  in  Tulp  when  there  is  a  stiver  to  be  saved — I 
shipped  at  Amsterdam." 


A    STAkTLING  PROPOSAL.  67 

*Biit  will  not  this  be  strictly  what  the  longshoremen  would 
term  a  salvage  job  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  intend  that  it  shall  be  a  salvage  job.  What  ? 
Deliver  up  the  dollars  to  the  Dutch  or  British  Government 
and  be  put  off  with  an  award  that  would  scarce  do  more  than 
pay  wages  ? " 

"  You  mean  to  run  the  stuff  ? " 

He  nodded.  "  There  is  time  enough  to  talk  over  that,"  said 
he  ;  "and  yet  perhaps  it's  right  I  should  tell  you  that  Tulp  and 
I  have  arranged  for  the  running  of  the  dollars  so  that  we  shall 
forfeit  not  one  farthing." 

"  Well,  I  heartily  wish  you  joy  of  your  discovery,"  said  1. 
"This  voyage  will  be  your  last,  no  doubt,  if  the  dollars  are  still 
where  you  saw  them." 

I  looked  at  a  little  clock  that  was  ticking  over  a  table  ;  it 
was  a  quarter  after  eleven.  I  then  looked  at  the  small  scuttle 
or  window  which  swung  with  regular  oscillations  out  of  the 
flash  of  the  flying  foam  into  the  light  of  the  blowing  morning. 
I  then  looked  at  Galloon,  and  wondered  quietly  within  myself 
how  long  it  would  take  me  to  get  home  ;  for  the  speeding  of 
the  brig  was  continuous  ;  the  heave  of  the  sea  that  rushed  her 
forward  was  full  of  the  weight  of  a  sort  of  weather  that  my  ex- 
perience assured  me  was  not  going  to  fail  us  on  a  sudden. 
When,  then,  was  I  going  to  get  home?  and  while  I  kept  my 
eyes  fastened  upon  Galloon,  I  mused  with  the  velocity  of 
thought  upon  my  uncle  Captain  Round  ;  upon  my  adventure 
with  the  press-gang ;  upon  the  Royal  Brunswicker,  and  her 
arrival  in  the  Thames  :  upon  my  little  property  in  the  cabin  I 
had  occupied  aboard  her,  and  on  the  wages  which  Captain 
Spalding  owed  me. 

Greaves  glanced  at  the  clock  at  which  I  had  looked.  He 
then  said,  "  Will  you  be  interested  to  know  how  Mynheer  Tulp 
proposes  to  divide  the  money  ?" 

I  begged  him  to  acquaint  me  with  Tulp'-s  proposal. 

"There  are  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,"  said 
Greaves.  "  Of  this  money  the  ship  takes  half.  For  ship  read 
Tulp  ;  Tulp's  share,  therefore,  is  two  hundred  and  seventy  thou- 
sand dollars  or  fifty-five  thousand  pounds." 

"  These  are  big  figures,"  said  I.  "  They  slide  glibly  from 
the  tongue.  I  suppose  a  man  could  behold  another  fellow's 
fifty-five  thousand  pounds  without  feeling  faint  ;  but  call 
a  poor  sailor  into  a  room  and  show  him  fifty-five  thousand 
pounds  in  gold  and  tell  him  it  is  his,  and  I  believe  you  would 


68  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

find  a  large  dose  of  rum  the  next  thing  to  be  done  with 
him." 

"  The  ship  gets  half,"  continued  Greaves,  **  I  as  commander 
get  two-thirds  of  the  remainder." 

"How  much  is  that?" 

"  Thirty-six  thousand  pounds." 

I  whistled  low  and  long. 

"  The  mate,"  proceeded  he,  "  not  Van  Laar,  but  the  mate — " 
he  paused  and  looked  at  me  with  an  expression  of  significant 
attention  ;  "  the  mate  gets  one-third  of  the  remainder — thirty 
thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-six  dollars,  or  six  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eleven  pounds."  He  read  these  figures  from  his 
little  book. 

"A  good  haul  for  the  mate,"  said  I. 

"  The  balance  of  sixty-one  odd  thousand  dollars,"  he  went 
on,  "  goes  to  tlie  men  according  to  their  rating.  This  they  will 
receive  over  and  above  their  wages,  which  average  from  three 
to  six  pounds  a  month." 

"I  think  Mr.  Tulp's  division  into  shares  very   fair,"  said  I. 

'*  Now,"  said  he,  "  why  do  I  tell  you  all  this  ?  Why  am  I 
revealing  to  you  what  not  a  living  soul  on  board  knows  or  even 
suspects  ? " 

I  regarded  him  in  silence. 

"  Cannot  you  anticipate  the  proposal  I  intend  to  make  ? 
Will  you  take  Van  Laar's  place  on  board  my  brig,  and  act  as 
my  mate  ?  " 

I  started  from  my  chair.  Not  for  an  instant  had  I  suspected 
that  his  motive  in  telling  me  his  story  was  to  enable  him  to 
make  this  offer.  I  started  with  so  much  vehemence  that  Gal- 
loon growled,  stirred,  and  elevated -his  ears. 

"  It  is  a  magnificent  proposal,"  said  I.  "  It  is  an  offer  of 
six  thousand  pounds." 

**  More,"  he  interrupted.  "  Your  wages  will  be  ten  pounds 
a  month." 

"  I  do  not  like  the  idea,"  said  I  after  a  pause,  "  of  taking 
Van  Laar's  place." 

"  From  him,  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"From  him.  of  course.     The  post  is  another  thing." 

"  It  is  I,"  said  he,  "not  you,  who  take  it  from  him.  Now, 
pray,  distinctly  understand  this.  Fielding,  that,  whether  you 
accept  or  not,  Van  Laar  will  shortly  cease  to  be  my  mate.  If 
you  refuse  then  Yan  Bol  comes  aft,  and  Laar  either  takes  his 
place  or  goes  home  in  the  first  ship  we  meet." 


A    STARTLING  PROPOSAL.  69 

He  spoke  with  a  hard  face  and  some  severity  of  voice.  It 
was  quite  clear  that  his  mind  was  resolved,  so  far  as  Van  Laar's 
relations  with  the  brig  was  concerned. 

"  It  is  a  fine  offer,"  said  I.  "  You  will  give  me  time  to  think 
it  over,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  What  time  do  you  require  ? " 

I  again  looked  at  the  little  clock. 

"  I  shall  be  able  to  see  my  way  in  a  few  hours,  I  hope." 

"  That  is  not  sailor  fashion,"  said  he,  stepping  to  a  quadrant 
case  and  taking  the  instrument  up  out  of  it.  "  A  sailor  jumps  ; 
he  never  deliberates." 

"  I  have  no  clothes  save  what  I  am  wearing,"  said  I. 

"  We  are  well  stocked  with  slops,"  he  exclaimed.  "  Dutch- 
made,  to  be  sure,  but  they  are  good  togs." 

"I  am  without  nautical  instruments,"  said  I,  looking  at  the 
quadrant  which  he  held. 

"  I  have  three  of  these,"  he  answered,  "  and  one  is  at  your 
service." 

I  rose  and  took  a  turn,  full  of  thought,  wishing  to  say  "Yes  " 
but  wishing  to  consider,  too. 

"  Even  were  Van  Laar,"  said  he,  "  as  good  and  trustworthy 
a  seaman  as  ever  stepped  a  deck,  I  would  rather  have  a  fellow- 
countryman  for  a  mate  than  a  Dutchman,  though  the  Dutch- 
man were  the  better  man.  In  this  case  it  is  wholly  the  other 
way  about.  Here  are  you,  fresh  from  a  long  voyage,  with  the 
experiences  of  the  sea  green  upon  you.  You  are  young  ;  you 
are  English.  I  owe  you  my  life  ;  and  what  a  debt  is  that  ! 
Together  we  can  make  this  voyage  not  only  a  rich  but  a  jolly 
jaunt.  On  the  other  hand,  is  Van  Laar — no,  plague  on  him, 
he  is  not  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  out  of  it.  Well,  I  must  now 
go  on  deck  to  take  sights.     Let  me  have  your  answer  soon." 

He  extended  his  hand,  received  mine,  pressed  it  cordially, 
and  quitted  the  cabin. 

I  followed  with  Galloon,  and,  entering  the  stateroom,  paced 
the  deck  of  it  and  turned  Greaves'  proposal  over.  While  I 
paced,  Van  Laar,  with  a  quadrant  in  his  hand,  came  out  of  a 
cabin  abreast  of  the  captain's.  He  stared  me  full  and  in- 
solently in  the  face,  and  said  in  a  tone  of  irony  : 

"  Veil,  how  vhas  it  mit  you  ?  Do  you  feel  like  going  home 
now  ?  " 

"The  sun  will  have  crossed  his  meridian  if  you  don't  hurry 
up,"  said  I. 

"  Vot  der  doyvel  vhas  der  sun  to  you,  sir  ?  " 


7°  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

I  turned  my  back  upon  him  and  continued  to  pace  the  deck, 
not  choosing  that  he  should  fasten  a  quarrel  upon  me — as  yet, 
at  all  events. 

His  insolence,  however,  helped  me  in  my  reflections  by  ex- 
tinguishing him  as  a  condition  to  be  borne  in  mind.  I  had 
been  influenced  by  compunction  ;  now  I  had  none.  I  watched 
the  fat  beast  climb  the  companion  ladder,  and  after  him,  and 
then  over  the  side  into  the  seething  water  to  lie  drowned  for- 
ever, went  all  compunction.  How  could  Greaves  work  with 
such  a  man  ?  How  could  he  live  in  a  ship  with  such  a  man  1 
So,  opening  the  door  of  my  mind,  I  kicked  Mate  Van  Laar 
headlong  out  of  my  contemplation,  and  resolution  did  not  then 
seem  very  hard  to  form. 

I  sat  down,  and  said  to  Galloon  : 

"What  shall  I  do?" 

Galloon  s'tood  upon  his  hind  legs,  and,  resting  his  fore  feet 
upon  my  knees,  looked  up  at  me  with  eyes  which  beamed  with 
cordial  invitation  and  affectionate  solicitude. 

"  What  shall  I  do,  Galloon  ?  "  said  I.  "  Six  thousand  pounds 
is  a  lar^e  sum  of  money  for  a  man  of  my^degree.  Can  I  doubt 
that  the  dollars  are  in  the  ship  inside  the  cave  ?  If  Tulp  is  to 
be  convinced,  I  should.  There  was  the  Spanish  manifest  ; 
there  were  the  cases  beheld  by  Greaves'  own  eyes.  Why 
should  Greaves  invent  this  yarn  ?  I  will  stake  my  life,  Galloon, 
upon  its  being  true.  Six  thousand  pounds  !  And  d'ye  know, 
my  noble  dog,  that  there  is  more  money  in  six  thousand  pounds 
than  your  master's  reckoning  of  the  Spanish  dollar  swells  the 
amount  to  ?  In  Jamaica  the  Spanish  dollar  passes  for  six- 
and-eightpence  ;  in  parts  of  North  America  for  eight  shillings  ; 
and  in  tlie  Windward  Islands  for  nine  shillings  ;  "  and  then  I 
told  Galloon  what  I  should  do  when  I  received  the  six  thousand 
pounds  :  how  I  would  buy  me  a  little  house  at  Deal  and  a  boat, 
live  like  a  gentleman  on  the  interest  of  what  was  left,  and  spend 
the  time  merrily  in  flashing  and  sailing. 

The  dog  listened  with  attention.  At  times  I  seemed  to  catch 
a  slight  inclination  of  the  head,  as  though  he  nodded  approv- 
ingly. I  counted  upon  my  fingers  all  the  advantages  which 
must  attend  my  acceptance  of  Greaves'  offer.  First,  the  post 
of  mate  at  ten  pounds  a  mouth,  with  a  voyage  before  me  of  at 
least  twelve  months  ;  then  my  associatioi)  with  a  man  whose  com- 
pany was  exceedingly  agreeable  to  me,  between  whom  and  me 
there  must  always  be  such  a  bond  of  sympathy  as  nothing  but 
the  prodigious  and  pathetic  services  we  had  done  each  other 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  71 

could  establish  ;  then  the  possibility — nay,  the  more  than  pos- 
sibility, of  my  receiving  six  thousand  pounds  as  my  dividend 
of  the  adventure.  These  and  the  like  considerations  I  summed 
up.  What  was  t\\e  per  contra  ?  The  forfeiture  of  a  few  weeks 
of  holiday  ashore  !  Spalding's  debt  to  me  stood  good,  and 
would  be  paid  whenever  I  turned  up  to  receive  the  money. 
My  being  seized  by  the  press-gang,  the  boat  being  stove,  and 
my  being  picked  up  insensible  and  carried  away  into  the 
ocean — all  this  was  no  fault  of  mine.  Therefore  Spalding 
would  pay  me  the  money, 

"Galloon,  I  will  accept,"  said  I,  and  jumped  up;  and  the 
dog  fell  to  cutting  capers  about  me,  springing  here  and  there, 
like  a  dog  in  front  of  a  trotting  horse,  and  barking  joyously. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

I     FIGHT     VAN    LAAR. 

About  the  hour  of  four,  that  same  afternoon,  I  followed 
Greaves  out  of  his  berth  into  the  state  cabin  and  living  room.> 
We  had  been  closeted  for  an  hour,  and  during  that  hour  our 
discourse  had  related  wholly  to  the  voyage.  I  followed  him 
into  the  cabin.  There  had  been  no  change  in  the  weather 
since  the  morning.  The  brig  was  rushing  through  the  swollen 
seas  under  whole  topsails  and  some  fore-and-aft  canvas,  to  keep 
her  head  straight,  for  now  and  again  she  would  yaw  widely 
with  the  swing  of  the  surge,  and,  indeed,  it  needed  two  stout 
fellows  at  the  wheel  to  keep  the  sheet  of  rushing  wake  astern 
of  her  a  fairly  straight  line. 

We  had  not  entered  the  cabin  five  minutes  when  Van  Laar 
descended  the  companion  steps.  It  was  four  o'clock.  Yan 
Bol  had  come  on  to  the  quarter-deck  to  relieve  the  mate  until 
the  hour  of  six,  and  Van  Laar,  descending  the  ladder,  was 
rolling  in  a  thrusting  and  sprawling  walk  to  his  berth,  without 
taking  the  least  notice  of  the  captain  and  me,  when  Greaves 
stopped  him. 

"  Van  Laar,  sit  down.  I  have  something  to  say  to 
you." 

The  Dutch  mate  rounded  suddenly.  The  insipid  and  mean- 
ingless layers  of  fat  which  formed  his  face  were  quickened  by 
an  expression  of  surprise.  He  had  pulled  his  cloth  cap  off  on 
entering,  and  now  worried  it  between  his  hands  as  he  stared  at 
Greaves.      His  mind  worked  slowly.     Presently  he   gathered 


72  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

from  the  looks  of  Greaves  that  he  was  to  expect  something 
unpleasant,  on  whicli  he  said  : 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  sit  down.  Vy  der  doyvil  should  I  sit 
down  ?     Vot  hov  you  to  say,  Captain  Greaves  ?  " 

"  You  are  already  aware  that  I  am  dissatisfied  with  you," 
said  Greaves. 

"  'Ow  vhas  dot  ?  " 

"  I  desire  no  words.  Enough  if  I  tell  you  simply  that  you 
do  not  suit  me." 

"  Vy  der  doyvil  did  you  engage  me,  den  ?  " 

"  I  was  misled  by  Mynheer  Tulp,  who  was  misled  by  Myn- 
heer somebody  else,"  answered  Greaves,  admirably  controlling 
his  voice,  but  nevertheless  sternly  surveying  the  man  whom  he 
addressed.  '*  I  was  told  that  you  knew  your  duty  as  a  seaman 
and  as  a  mate,  but  you  are  so  ignorant  of  your  duty  that  I  will 
no  longer  trust  you  on  my  quarter-deck." 

"  Vy  der  doyvil  did  you  ask  me  to  schip  ?  If  I  do  not 
know  my  duty,  vhas  dere  a  half-drown  man  ash  we  drag  on 
boardt  dot  can  teach  her  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  choose  to  go  into  that,"  exclaimed  Captain 
Greaves  calmly.  "  I  presume  you  are  not  so  ignorant  of  the 
sea  but  that  you  know  what  my  powers  as  a  commander  are?" 

"  Hey  !  you  speaks  too  vast  for  me." 

The  captain  slowly  and  deliberately  repeated  his  remark. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  exclaimed  Van  Laar,  with  a  slow  sideways  motion 
of  the  head.  "  I  need  not  to  be  instrocted  as  to  dere  powers 
of  a  commander,  nor  do  I  need  to  be  instrocted  as  to  dere 
rights  of  dose  who  sail  oonder  her.  I  vhas  your  mate  ;  vhat 
hov  you  to  say  against  dot  ?  " 

"  Which  will  you  do,"  said  Greaves,  with  a  note  of  impa- 
tience in  his  voice,  "  will  you  take  the  place  of  second  mate,  in 
the  room  of  Yan  Bol,  who  will  be  glad  to  be  relieved  of  that 
trust,  or  will  you  go  home  by  the  first  ship  that'll  receive 
you  ?  " 

Van  Laar  looked  from  Greaves  to  me,  and  from  me  to 
Greaves,  and  putting  his  cap  upon  the  table,  and  thrusting  his 
immensely  fat  hands  into  his  immensely  deep  trousers'  pockets, 
he  exclaimed,  with  a  succession  of  nods  : 

"  Dis  vhas  a  consbiracy." 

"  Conspiracy  or  no  conspiracy,"  said  Greaves,  scarcely  con- 
cealing a  smile,  "  you  will  give  me  your  answer  at  once,  if  you 
please.     My  mind  is  made  up." 

"  Dis   vhas   your   doing,"  said    Van   Laar,  looking  at  me  ; 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  73 

ar.d  he  pulled  his  right  hand  out  of  his  pocket  and  held  it 
clenched. 

*'  Make  no  reference  to  that  gentleman,"  cried  Greaves,  "  I 
am  the  captain  of  this  ship,  and  all  that  is  done  is  of  my  doing, 
I  await  your  answer." 

"  Vy  der  doyvil,"  said  Van  Laar  deliberately,  with  his  eyes 
fastened  upon  my  face,  "  vhas  not  you  drown  ?  Shall  I  tell 
you  ?  Because  you  vhas  reserve  for  anoder  sort  of  end,"  and 
here  he  bestowed  a  very  significant  nod  upon  me. 

I  felt  the  blood  in  my  cheeks.  I  could  have  whipped  him 
up  the  steps  and  overboard  for  talking  to  me  like  that,  I  looked 
at  Greaves,  met  his  glance,  bit  my  lip,  and  held  my  peace. 

"  Which  will  you  do,  Mr,  Van  Laar  ? "  said  Captain  Greaves. 
"  If  you  do  not  answerforyourself  I  will  find  an  answer  for  you." 

"  Gott,  but  I  hov  brought  my  hogs,  as  you  English  say,  to  a 
pretty  market,  I  am  dere  servant  of  Mynheer  Bartholomew 
Tulp." 

"  I  am  master  of  this  ship  and  you  are  my  mate.  I  can  break 
you  and  send  you  forward.  I  can  have  you  triced  up  and  your 
broad  breech  ribbanded.  I  can  swing  you  at  the  yardarm  till 
your  neck  is  as  long  as  an  emu's.  Why  do  I  tell  you  this  ? 
Because  you  are  ignorant  of  the  sea  and  must  learn  that  my 
powers  are  not  to  be  disputed  by  any  man  under  me,  from  you 
down,  or,  as  I  would  rather  say,  from  you  up,"  he  added,  with 
a  sarcastic  sneer. 

"  Vhat  vhas  your  offer  ?"  said  the  mate. 

There  was  a  perversity  in  this  man's  stupidity  that  was  very 
irritating.     The  captain  quietly  named  again  the  alternative. 

"  Vat  vhas  dis  voyage  about  ?"  inquired  the  mate, 

"  That  is  my  affair," 

The  Dutchman  stood  gazing  at  one  or  the  other  of  us.  He 
then  put  on  his  cap  and  saying,  "  I  vill  schmoke  a  pipe  in  my 
bed.und  tink  him  out,"  he  made  a  step  toward  his  berth, 

"  I  must  have  your  answer  by  six  o'clock,"  said  the  captain. 

The  mate,  taking  no  notice  of  Greaves'  remark,  entered  his 
berth  and  closed  the  door. 

Greaves  and  I  were  silent  upon  the  man's  behavior  ;  he  was 
so  absolutely  and  helplessly  in  the  power  of  his  captain  that 
the  sense  of  fairplay  would  not  suffer  us  to  speak  of  him. 

"  I  will  tell  Jimmy,"  said  Greaves,  "  to  get  the  slop  chest  up, 
and  you  can  overhaul  it  for  the  clothes  you  require.  You  will 
want  a  chest  ;  thatczx).  be  managed.  What  else  will  you  require  ? 
Your  bedroom  needs  furnishing.     I  can  lend  you  a  razor  and 


74  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

give  you  a  hairbrush.  Linen  and  boots  you  will  find  among  the 
slops.  As  to  wages — we  will  arrange  it  thus  :  I  shall  give  a 
written  undertaking  to  each  of  the  crew,  on  announcing  to  them 
the  purpose  of  this  voyage.  In  my  undertaking  to  you,  in 
which  I  shall  state  your  share,  I  can  name  the  wages  agreed 
upon — ten  pounds  a  month,  starting  from  to-day,  which  of 
course,  I  will  make  a  note  of  in  my  log  book.  Does  this  meet 
your  views  ?" 

"  Handsomely,"  I  answered. 

He  left  his  seat. 

"  With  your  leave,  captain,"  said  I,  "  it  is  captain  now  ;  it 
shall  be  sv-  anon." 

"  No,  no,"  he  interrupted,  "  not  the  least  need  ;  not  as  be- 
tween you  and  me,  Fielding.  In  the  presence  of  the  crew  and 
in  the  interests  of  discipline,  why,  perhaps  it  had  better  be  an 
occasional  sir  for  me,  you  know,  and  a  viisier  for  you,  d'ye 
see  ?  But  the  words  may  be  uttered  with  our  tongues  in  our 
cheeks.     What  were  you  going  to  say  ?  " 

"  That  with  your  leave,  I  will  at  once  write  a  letter  to  my 
uncle  Captain  Joseph  Round,  relating  my  adventures,  telling 
him  where  I  am,  but  not  where  I  am  bound  to,  and  requesting 
him  to  communicate  with  Captain  Spalding,  that  my  wages 
may  be  sent  to  my  uncle  at  De'al.  We  may  fall  in  with  a  ship  in 
any  hour  and  I  will  have  a  letter  ready." 

"Right,"  he  exclaimed,  "you  will  find  pen  and  ink  and 
paper  in  my  cabin  ;  "  and  he  sprang  up  the  hatch,  whistling 
cheerily,  as  though  his  mind  were  extraordinarily  relieved,  not 
indeed  through  my  agreeing  to  serve  under  him — oh  no,  I  am 
not  such  a  coxcomb  as  to  believe  that — but  because  he  had  as 
good  as  cleared  Van  Laaroff  his  quarter-deck. 

I  entered  his  berth,  and  finding  the  materials  I  required  for 
producing  a  letter,  I  returned  to  the  cabin,  seated  myself  at 
the  table,  and  began  a  letter  to  my  uncle  Joseph.  The  chair  I 
occupied  was  at  the  forward  end  of  the  table,  and  when  I 
raised  my  eyes  from  the  paper,  I  commanded  both  the  captain's 
and  the  mate's  berths.  It  was  about  half-past  four.  There 
was  plenty  of  daylight  ;  the  windy  westering  sunshine  came 
and  went  upon  the  cabin  skylight  with  the  sweep  of  the  large 
masses  of  vapor  across  the  luminary.  The  roar  of  frothing 
waters  alongside  penetrated  dully.  The  lift  of  the  brig  was 
finely  buoyant  and  rhythmic,  insomuch  that  you  might  almost 
have  made  time  out  of  the  swing  of  a  tray  over  the  table,  as 
you  make  time  out  of  the  oscillations  of  a  pendulum. 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  75 

I  had  nearly  completed  my  letter  when,  happening  to  lift  my 
head  to  search  the  skylight  for  a  thought,  or  perhaps  for  the 
spelling  of  a  word,  I  beheld  the  fat  countenance  of  A"an  I.aar 
surveying  me  from  his  doorway.  On  my  looking  at  him  he 
withdrew  his  head,  with  a  manner  of  indecision.  I  went  on 
writing.  The  lad  Jimmy  came  into  the  cabin,  followed  by 
Galloon.  The  boy,  as  I  call  him,  busied  himself,  and  I  went 
on  with  my  letter,  the  dog  jumping  on  to  the  chair  which  he 
occupied  at  meals,  and  watching  me.  Presently,  looking  up,  I 
again  perceived  Van  Laar's  head  in  his  doorway.  Once  more 
he  withdrew,  but  at  the  instant  of  signing  my  letter,  1  heard  a 
strange  noise  close  beside  me  ;  I  seemed  to  smell  spirits  ;  I 
raised  my  eyes.  Van  Laar  stood  at  the  table,  leaning  upon  it, 
and  breathing  very  heavily  ;  his  breathing,  indeed,  sounded 
like  a  saw  cutting  through  timber  ;  his  little  eyes  were  un- 
commonly fierce  and  fiery,  and  the  flesh  of  his  face  of  a  dull 
red.     The  moment  my  gaze  met  his,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  You  vhas  a  broodelbig  !  " 

His  accent  was  so  much  broader  than  the  spelling  which  I 
have  endeavored  to  convey  it  in  that  I  did  not  understand  him. 
I  believed  he  had  applied  some  injurious  Dutch  word  to   me. 

"What  do  you  say  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  I  should  like  to  know,"  said  he,  fingering  the  cuffs  of  his 
coat  as  though  he  meant  to  turn  them  up,  "  vhat  sort  of  a  man 
you  vhas  Who  vhas  you  ?  'Ow  vhas  it  you  vhas  half  drown  ? 
'Ow  comes  you  into  dere  water  ?  Vlias  you  chooked  overboart } 
Maype  you  vhas  a  pirate  ?  I  should  like  to  know  some  more 
about  you.  Vhat  schip  vhas  yours  ?  Have  you  a  farder  ?  Vere 
vhas  you  porn  ?  " 

"Return  to  your  cabin  and  finish  your  pipe  and  bottle,"  said 
I.     "  Do  not  meddle  with  me,  I  beg  you." 

"  Meddle  !  Vhat  vhas  dot  ?  Meddle  ;  I  must  hov  satisfac- 
tion of  my  questions.  My  master  is  Mynheer  Tulp.  Am  I  to 
give  oop  my  place  to  a  half-drown  man,  vhen  I  hov  agree  for 
der  voyage  mit  Mynheer  Tulp's  consent  ?  "  He  swelled  his 
breast  and  roared — "  No  beast  of  an  Englishman  shall  take  dere 
place  of  Van  Laar  in  a  schip  dot  vhas  own  by  Mynheer  Tulp." 
He  then  smote  the  table  furiously  with  his  fist,  and,  putting  his 
face  close  to  mine,  he  thundered  out — "  You  are  a  broodelbig  !  " 
Now  I  understood  him  to  mean  "  a  brutal  pig,"  my  ear  having, 
perhaps,  been  educated  by  his  previous  speech. 

"  Jimmy,"  I  exclaimed,  "  hold  the  dog  !  "  and,  with  the  back 
of  my  hand,  I  slapped  the  Dutchman  heavily  on  the  nose, 


76  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

The  dog  growled.  Jimmy  sprang  and  clasped  the  creature 
round  the  neck,  holding  him  in  a  vise,  and  grinning  with  every 
fang  in  his  head  between  the  dog's  ears.  A  fight  to  an  English 
lad,  himself  clasping  a  growling  dog  to  his  heart  !  Match  him 
such  another  joy  if  you  can  ! 

Having  struck  Van  Laar,  I  stood  up  and  immediately  pulled 
off  my  coat  and  waistcoat.  Van  Laar  also  undressed  himself, 
and,  while  he  did  so,  he  bawled  out  : 

"  I  vhas  sorry  for  you.  Better  for  you  had  you  never  been 
porn.  If  I  vhas  you,  I  like  some  more  to  be  drown  or  hang 
dan  to  be  you." 

He  stripped  himself  to  his  flesh,  keeping  nothing  but  his 
trousers  on,  and  stood  before  me  like  a  vast  mass  of  yellow 
soap.  He  was  drenched  with  perspiration.  Galloon  barked 
hoarsely  at  him.  I  was  almost  disposed  to  regard  this  exhibi- 
tion of  himself  as  an  appeal  to  my  sensibility.  He  was  shaped 
like  a  dugong — after  the  pattern,  indeed,  of  one  of  the  most 
corpulent  of  those  interesting  marine  epicenes.  He  opposed 
to  me  a  ton  of  infuriate  flesh.  How  could  I  strike  it,  or 
rather  where  ?  It  would  be  like  plunging  my  fist  into  a  full 
slush-pot. 

"  Dere  better  der  man  dere  better  der  mate  ! "  he  roared. 
"  call  upon  Cott,  if  you  belief  in  Him,  to  help  you.  Dere  better 
der  man  dere  better  der  mate  !     Goom  on  ! " 

Poising  his  immense  fists  close  against  his  face,  he  approached 
me,  and  then,  hoping  perhaps  to  end  the  business  at  a  coup,  he 
rushed  upon  me,  whirling  both  his  arms  with  the  velocity  of  a 
windmill  in  a  strong  breeze.  I  took  a  step  and  planted  a  blow, 
but  not  without  compunction,  for  I  saw  that  the  poor  devil  had 
no  science.  I  say  I  planted  a  blow  in  his  right  eye,  which 
instantly  took  a  singular  expression  of  leering.  I  backed  and 
he  followed,  still  swinging  his  arms  ;  and  certainly,  had  I  per- 
mitted one  of  those  rotary  fists  to  descend  upon  my  head,  I 
must  have  gone  down  as  though  to  the  blow  of  a  handspike. 
But  alas  !  for  poor  Van  Laar.  He  knew  nothing  of  boxing, 
and  I  was  well  versed  in  that  art.  I  dodged  him  for  a  while, 
hoping  that,  by  winding  him,  I  should  be  able  to  bring  the 
battle  to  a  bloodless  close.  But  the  fellow  had  very  remark- 
able staying  jiowers  ;  he  seemed  unnaturally  strong  in  the  wind 
considering  his  tonnage.  He  continued  to  thrash  the  air, 
seeking  to  rush  upon  me,  while  he  thundered  : 

"Dere  better  der  man,  dere  better  der  mate  !  " 

So,  to  end  the  business,  I  knocked  him  down.     He  fell  flat 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  77 

and  heavily  upon  his  back.  Jimmy  roared  with  laughter,  and 
Galloon  barked  furiously  at  the  yellow  heap  on  the  deck, 
straining  in  the  lad's  arms  to  get  at  it.  Greaves  came  into  the 
cabin.  He  stopped  when  in  the  companion  way,  and  stared  at 
the  motionless  figure  of  Van  Laar. 

"  Is  the  man  killed  ?"  cried  he. 

"Oh,  dear,  no,"  I  answered.     "He's  only  resting." 

"  What  is  all  this  about  ?"  he  demanded. 

I  told  him  how  it  had  come  about,  but  when  I  repeated  the 
insulting  expression  which  had  been  twice  made  use  of,  Van 
Laar  sat  up  and  said  : 

"It  vhas  true,  but  I  will  fight  no  more  mit  you.  I  allow  dot 
you  are  der  better  man.  I  said,  '  Dere  better  der  man,  dere 
better  der  mate,'  and  dat  shall  be  as  Cott  pleases." 

"  Go  to  your  cabin,  sir  ! "  cried  Greaves,  looking  at  him  with 
disgust ;  but,  on  Van  Laar  turning  his  face,  the  captain's  coun- 
tenance relaxed. 

The  Dutchman's  eye  was  closed,  and  it  painted  upon  his 
countenance  the  fixed  expression  of  a  wink  ;  otherwise  he  was 
not  hurt.  I  had  known  how  to  fell  him  without  greatly  injur- 
ing him  or  drawing  blood,  and  the  worst  of  the  knockdown 
blow  I  had  administered  lay  in  the  shock  of  the  fall  of  his  own 
weight. 

"Go  to  your  cabin,  sir,"  repeated  the  captain,  "and  keep  to 
it.  Consider  yourself  under  arrest.  Your  brutal  conduct  now 
determines  me  to  clear  the  ship  of  you,  and  you  shall  be  sent 
home  by  the  first  vessel  that  I  can  speak." 

"  You  vhas  in  a  hurry,"  said  Van  Laar,  getting  on  to  his  legs, 
and  beginning  to  pick  up  his  clothes  :  "  had  you  vaited  you 
would  have  foundt  me  first.  It  vhas  me,"  he  roared,  striking 
his  fat  chest,  "  who  tell  you,  and  not  you  who  tell  me,  dot  I 
leave  for  goot  dis  footy  hooker.  But  stop,"  cried  he,  wagging 
his  fat  forefinger  at  the  captain,  "  till  I  see  Mynheer  Tulp. 
Den  I  vhas  sorry  for  you,"  and  thus  speaking  he  went  to  his 
cabin,  bearing  his  clothes  with  him. 

I  put  on  my  coat  and  waistcoat,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  am  truly 
grieved  that  this  should  have  happened.  Yonder  lad  Jimmy 
witnessed  the  fellow's  treatment  of  me." 

"There  is  nothing  to  regret,"  said  Greaves.  "Yes,  I  regret 
that  you  did  not  punish  him  more  severely.  He  knows  that 
you  have  been  insensible  for  three  days,  and  the  coward,  no 
doubt,  counted  upon  finding  you  weak  after  your  illness." 

"  It  is  well  for  him,"  said  I,  "  that  he  should  have  made  up 


78  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

his  mind  at  once  that  I  am  the  better  man.  I  felt  a  sort  of 
pity  for  the  shapeless  bulk  when  I  saw  it  rushing  upon  me, 
with  its  arms  whirring  like  the  flails  of  a  thresher  upon  a  whale. 
A  fellow  apprentice  of  mine,  in  the  third  voyage  I  made,  was 
the  son  of  a  prize-fighter.  He  had  learnt  the  art  from  his 
father,  and  claimed  to  have  his  science.  Many  a  stand-up 
affair  happened  between  this  youth  and  me,  during  our  watches 
below.  He  showed  me  every  trick  at  last,  though  the  education 
cost  my  face  some  new  skins." 

"  If  Van  Laar  shows  himself  on  deck,  or  indeed,  if  he  leaves 
his  berth,  I'll  clap  him  in  irons,"  said  Greaves.  "Meanwhile, 
Fielding,  you  will  enter  upon  your  duties  at  once,  providing 
you  feel  strong  enough." 

"  Perfectly  strong  enough,"  said  I. 

"  Very  well,"  said  he,  "you  will  relieve  Yan  Bol  at  four  bells, 
and  I  will  call  the  crew  aft  and  tell  them  that  you  are  mate  of 
\\iQ  Black  Watchr 

So  here  now  was  I  chief  mate  of  a  smart  brig,  with  ten 
pounds  a  month  for  wages,  not  to  mention  the  six  thousand 
pounds  I  was  to  take  up  if  we  brought  our  cargo  of  dollars 
home  in  safety.  Truthfully  had  I  told  Greaves  that  my  adven- 
tures at  sea  had  been  few,  but  surely  now  life  was  making 
atonement  for  her  past  beggarly  provision  of  strange,  surprising 
experiences,  by  the  creation  of  incidents  incomparably  roman- 
tic and  memorable,  as  I  will  maintain  before  the  whole 
world,  was  that  incident  of  the  gibbet,  on  the  sand  hills  near 
Deal. 

When  I  reached  the  deck  I  found  a  noble,  flying,  inspiriting 
scene  of  swelling  and  cleaving  and  foaming  brigand  ocean  curl-. 
ing  southward.  Through  the  luster  of  an  angry,  glorious  sun- 
set, the  froth  flew  in  flakes  of  blood,  and  every  burst  of  white 
water  from  the  courtesying  bows  was  crimson  with  sparkles  as  of 
rubies.  I  wondered,  when  I  looked  at  the  see-saw  sloping  of  the 
deck,  how  on  eartli  the  Dutchman  and  I  had  managed  to  keep 
our  pins  while  we  fought.  Yet,  why  did  I  wonder  ?  I  found 
myself  standing  beside  the  captain,  no  more  sensible  than  he  of 
a  swing  and  sway  that  when  it  came  to  a  roll  was  roof-steep  often, 
gazing  forward  with  him  at  the  crew,  who  were  assembling  in 
response  to  the  boatswain's  summons,  preparatory  to  laying 
aft. 

This  was  a  small  business  and  promptly  dispatched.  Two 
men  were  at  the  wheel,  and  eight  men,  leaving  Jim  Vinten  out, 
came  to  the  mainmast  to  hear  what  the  captain  had  to  say.     He 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  79 

said  no  more  than  this  :  'lYanBol,  and  you  men  :  Mr.  Van 
Laar  is  under  arrest  in  his  cabin,  and  Mr.  William  Fielding  here 
is  and  will  be  the  mate  of  the  Black  Watch.  He  is  a  much 
better  man  than  Van  Laar.  You  would  split  your  throats  with 
huzzas  did  you  know  how  very  much  smarter  Mr.  Fielding  is 
than  Van  Laar.  We  want  nothing  but  sharp  and  able  men 
aboard  the  Black  Watch.  You'll  know  why  anon — you'll  know 
why  anon.  I  have  my  eye  upon  ye,  lads,  and  so  far,  I'm  very 
well  satisfied.  You  seem  a  willing  crew  ;  keep  so.  A  man, 
after  he  has  heard  our  errand,  would  sooner  have  cut  his  throat 
than  fail  me.  Heed  me  well,  hearts,  for  this  is  to  be  a  big  cruise. 
Here's  your  mate,  Mr.  William  Fielding,"  and  he  put  his  hand 
upon  my  shoulder. 

The  fellows  stared  very  hard.  They  were  strangers  to  me  as 
yet,  and  I  knew  not  which  were  Dutch  and  which  were  English  ; 
but  some  exchanged  looks  with  a  half-suppressed  grin,  and  those 
I  guessed  were  English.  Yan  Bol  stood  forward — Yan  we  called 
him,  though  he  spelt  his  name  with  a  J.  He  was,  as  you  have 
heard,  boatswain,  carpenter,  and  sailmaker,  a  stern,  bearded, 
beetle-browed  man,  heavily  clothed  with  hair — leonine — 
indeed,  in  the  matter  of  hair. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  captain,"  said  he,  *'  does  Herr  Van  Laar 
goom  forward  ? " 

"No,"  answered  the  captain,  "  he  goes  over  the  side  pres- 
ently, when  there's  a  ship  to  pick  him  up." 

"  I  vhas  to  be  second  mate  still  ?  " 

"  Yaw,  it  is  so,  Yan.     We  want  no  better  man." 

But  the  compliment  was  not  relished.  Methought  Yan  Bol, 
as  he  fronted  the  stormy  western  light,  looked  sterner  and  more 
beetle-browed,  hairier,  and  more  bearded  than  before,  when  he 
understood  that  he  was  to  remain  second  mate. 

"  There  are  three  Dutchmen  aboard  not  counting  you,  Bol," 
said  the  captain,  "and  seven  Englishmen.  I  want  such  a 
distribution  of  watches,  as  will  put  the  three  Dutchmen  under 
you,  Yan.  Wirtz,  you  and  Hals  will  come  out  of  the  starboard 
into  the  larboard  watch,  and  Meehan  and  Travers  will  take 
their  place.  That's  all  Fve  got  to  say,  excepting  this — pipe  for 
grog,  Bol,  to  drink  the  health  of  the  new  mate." 

This  dismissed  them  chuckling.  Bol  sounded^his  whistle,  and 
Jimmy  presently  came  out  of  the  cabin  and  went  forward  with 
a  can  of  black  rum  swinging  in  his  hand. 

"  I  am  lumping  the  Dutchmen  together  under  one  head," 
said  Greaves,  as  we  paced  the  deck,  "  to  give  their  characters 


8o  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

a  chance  of  developing,  before  they  learn  the  motive  of  this 
voyage.  Not  that  I  have  more  or  less  faith  in  Dutchmen  than 
in  Englishmen  ;  but  sailors  of  a  nationality  do  not  distrust  one 
another,  therefore  whatever  is  bad  will  quickly  ripen  :  but  mix 
them  with  others  and  you  arrest  rapid  development  by  misgiv- 
ing ;  and  a  difficulty,  that  might  come  to  a  head  quickly,  is  de- 
layed until  a  remedy  becomes  difficult  or  impracticable." 

"I  understand  you,  sir."  He  smiled  on  my  giving  him  the 
sir  for  the  first  time.  "  You  want  to  get  at  the  character  of 
your  crew  as  promptly  as  may  be." 

"  That  I  may  clear  my  forecastle  of  whatever  is  doubtful.  A 
cargo  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  makes  a  rich 
ship,  and  a  rich  ship  is  a  wicked  temptation  to  wicked  men.  It 
is  a  pity  we  could  not  manage  with  fewer  hands  ;  but  death, 
sickness,  many  disabling  causes  are  to  be  considered  ;  the  voy- 
age is  a  long  one-^there  is  the  Horn  ;  we  could  not  have  done 
with  less  men." 

"  I  wonder  what  notion  of  this  voyage  the  men  have  in  their 
heads,"  said  I.  "  I  watched  them  while  you  talked.  I  could 
not  see  that  they  made  sign  by  grin,  or  stare,  or  look." 

"  They  would  not  be  sailors  if  they  were  not  careless  of  the 
future,"  said  Greaves.  "  What's  for  dinner  to-day  ?  That's  it, 
you  know.  Is  there  a  shot  in  the  locker  ?  Is  there  a  drop  of 
rum  in  the  puncheon  ?  Is  there  a  fiddle  aboard  ?  and  if  the 
answer  be  yea,  marry,  a  clear,  strong,  manly  bass  voice  sings 
out,  '  All's  well.'  Those  men  don't  care,  because  they  don't 
think.  Can't  you  hear  them  talk,  Fielding  ? — '  Where  the 
blazes  are  we  bound  to,  I  wonder  ? — Hand  us  that  pipe  along 
for  a  draw  and  a  spit,  matey.' — '  I'm  for  the  land  o'  shoe-shine 
arter  this  job,  bullies' — '  Der  bork  in  dis  schip  vhas  goodt,'  says 
a  Dutchman.  Then  grunt  goes  another,  and  snore  goes  a  third, 
and  the  rest  is  snorting.  Don't  it  run  so.  Fielding  .?  Ks'wknow 
sailors  as  well  as  I.  But  I'll  tell  you  what  ;  it'll  put  gunpowder 
into  the  heels  of  their  imaginations,  to  learn  that  we're  going  to 
load  dollars  out  of  a  derelict.  They  shan't  know  yet  a  bit. 
Well  it  is  that  Van  Laar  doesn't  know  either.  Tulp  Avas  for 
liaving  me  explain  the  nature  of  our  errand  to  him.  *  No,  by 
Isten,'  said  I — which  I  believe  is  Hungarian — '  no,  by  Isten,'  I 
exclaimed,  'no  man  shall  know  what  business  we're  upon  till 
I  have  gained  some  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  company 
of  fellows  who  are  under  me.'  " 

"  All  this  makes  me  feel  your  confidence  in  me  the  more 
flattering,  sir."  said  I. 


/  FIGHT    VAN  LAAR.  8 1 

"  Don't  over  sir  me.  I  must  replace  a  guzzling  and  gorging 
baboon  of  a  Dutch  mate — a  worthless  mass  of  unprofessional 
fat— I  must  replace  this  hogshead  of  lard  by  a  wa«,  and  Gal- 
loon finds  me  the  man  I  need  lying  half-drowned  off  Ramsgate. 
I  want  him  very  earnestly,  very  imperatively.  I  must  have  a 
mate — a  smart,  English  seaman.  Here  he  is;  but  how  am  I  to 
keep  him?  He  is  not  going  to  be  detained  by  vague  talk  of  a 
voyage  whose  issue  I  decline  to  say  anything  about,  whose 
motive  is  mysterious — criminal,  for  all  he  is  to  know — imperil- 
ing the  professional  reputation  of  those  concerned  in  it,  with 
such  a  gibbet  as  that  which  stands  upon  the  sand  hills  at  the 
end  of  it  all.  No  ;  to  keep  you  I  must  be  candid,  or  you 
wouldn't  have  stayed." 

"  That  is  true." 

"  See  to  the  brig,  Fielding.  She's  a  fine  boat,  don't  you 
think  ?  If  she  didn't  drag  so  much  water — look  at  that  lump  of 
sea  on  either  quarter — she'd  be  a  comet  in  speed.  "Why  the 
deuce  don't  the  shipwrights  ease  off  when  they  come  aft, 
instead  of  holding  on  with  the  square  run  of  the  butter-box  to 
the  very  lap  of  the  taffrail  ?  " 

He  looked  aloft ;  he  looked  around  the  sea;  he  walked  to 
the  binnacle  and  watched  the  motion  of  the  card  ;  he  then 
went  below. 

It  Avas  nearly  dark.  The  red  was  gone  out  of  the  west,  but 
the  dying  sheen  of  it  seemed  to  linger  in  the  south  and  east, 
whither  the  shapeless  masses  of  shadow  were  flying  across  the 
pale  and  windy  stars,  piling  themselves  down  there  with  a  look 
of  boiling-up,  as  though  the  rush  of  vapor  smote  the  hind- 
most of  the  clouds  into  steam. 

Why,  thought  I,  it  was  but  a  day  or  two  ago  that  I,  mate  of 
the  Royal  Bnmstmcker,  was  conning  that  ship,  with  her  head 
pointing  t'other  way,  in  these  same  waters  ;  and  then  I  was 
thinking  of  Uncle  Joe,  and  of  some  capers  ashore,  and  of  the 
relief  of  a  month  or  two's  rest  from  the  derned  hurl  of  the  rest- 
less billow,  as  the  poets  call  it,  with  plenty  of  country  to  smell 
and  fields  to  walk  in,  and  a  draught  of  new  milk  whenever  1 
had  a  mind.  Only  a  day  or  two  ago — it  seems  no  longer. 
Insensibility  takes  no  count  of  time.  In  fact,  whether  I  knew 
it  or  not,  I  went  to  sea  again  on  this  voyage  on  the  same  day 
on  which  I  arrived  in  the  Downs,  after  two  years  of  furrin- 
going.  How  will  it  end?  I  shall  become  a  fish.  But  six  thou- 
sand pounds,  thought  I,  to  be  picked  up,  invested,  safely 
secured   betwixt    this    and    next    May,  I    dare    say  !     Oh,  it's 


32  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEI^! 

good  enough — it's  good  enough  ;  and  I  whistled  througli  my 
teeth,  with  a  young  man's  Hght  heart,  as  I  walked,  watching  the 
brig  closely,  nevertheless,  and  observing  that  the  fellows  at  the 
helm  kept  her  before  it,  as  though  her  keel  was  sweeping  over 
metal  rails. 


CHAPTER  X. 

WE    TRANSHIP    VAN    LAAR. 

It  blew  fresh  all  that  night  and  all  next  day.  I  was  for 
carrying  on,  and  shook  a  reef  out  of  the  forecourse  and  set  the 
topgallant  sail  ;  and  when  Greaves  came  on  deck  he  looked  up, 
and  that  was  all.  He  would  not  trust  the  brig  with  too  much 
sail  on  her  in  a  staggering  breeze  when  Van  Laar  had  charge 
of  the  deck  ;  but  he  trusted  her  now,  and  trusted  her  afterward 
to  Yan  Bol  when  he  came  to  relieve  me  ;  and  hour  after  hour 
the  Black  Watch  stormed  along,  bowing  her  spritsail  yard  at 
the  bowsprit's  end  into  the  foam  of  her  own  hurling  till  it  was 
buried,  and  every  shroud  and  backstay  was  as  taut  as  wire,  and 
sang,  swelling  into  such  a  concert  as  you  must  sail  the  stormy 
ocean  to  hear,  with  a  noise  of  drums  rolling  through  it  out  of 
the  hollow  of  the  sails,  and  no  lack  of  bugle  notes  and  trumpet- 
ing as  each  sea  swept  the  brig  to  its  summit. 

On  the  third  day  the  weather  was  quiet.  It  was  shortly  be- 
fore the  hour  of  noon.  A  light  swell  was  flowing  out  of  the 
north,  but  the  breeze  was  about  northwest,  and  the  brig  was 
pushing  through  it  under  studding-sails.  The  men  were  pre- 
paring to  get  their  dinner,  one  of  the  Dutch  seamen  at  the 
wheel,  and  Greaves  and  I  standing  side  by  side,  each  with  a 
quadrant  in  his  hand. 

"  I  wish,"  exclaimed  the  captain,  "  that  something  would 
come  along — something  to  receive  Van  Laar  !  The  fancy  of 
tliat  fellow  confined  in  his  berth  is  not  very  agreeable  to  me. 
Jimmy  tells  me  that  he  smokes  all  day  ;  that  he  removes  the 
pipe  from  his  mouth  merely  to  eat.  Then,  indeed,  the  pipe  is 
for  some  time  out  of  his  mouth." 

"Sail  ho  !  "  I  exclaimed  at  that  instant  ;  for,  while  he  ad- 
dressed me,  my  gaze  was  upon  the  sea  over  the  lee  bow,  and 
there,  like  a  hovering  feather,  hung  a  sail. 

Greaves  looked  at  her,  and  exclaimed  : 

"  I  hope  she  is  coming  this  way,  I  hope  she  is  homeward 
bound,  and  that  she  will  receive  Van  Laar." 


H'E    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  83 

We  applied  our  eyes  to  our  quadrants,  made  eight  bells,  and, 
leaving  Yan  Bol  to  keep  a  lookout,  went  below. 

"  How  am  I  to  foist  Van  Laar  upon  a  ship's  captain  ?  "  said 
he,  as  we  entered  his  berth  to  work  out  the  latitude.  ''  Is  he  a 
passenger  ?  Then  he  must  pay.  But  Van  Laar  is  not  a  man 
to  pay,  and  not  one  doit  shall  I  be  willing  to  pay  for  him.  Is 
he  a  distressed  mariner  whom  we  have  picked  up  ?  No. 
What  is  he  but  an  inefficient  officer,  full  of  mutinj^  beef,  to- 
bacco, and  schnapps  ?  I  may  find  difficulty  in  persuading  a 
captain  to  take  him.  I  hope  it  may  not  come  to  it,  but  I  fear 
I  shall  be  forced  to  throw  him  overboard." 

We  worked  out  the  latitude  and  entered  the  cabin.  Galloon 
sat  upon  his  chair  at  the  table,  watching  Jimmy  lay  the  cloth 
for  dinner. 

"What  are  you  going  to  give  us  to  eat,  Jimmy?"  said  the 
captain. 

"Oh,  I  know,  master,"  replied  the  lad  with  his  foolish  smile  ; 
and  here  I  observed  that  Galloon  looked  at  him.  "  It's  roast 
beef  to-day,  master." 

"  There  is  no  fresh  beef  in  the  ship  ;  therefore  we  are  not 
going  to  have  roast  beef  for  dinner.  Corned  beef  it  is,  not 
roast  beef.     Say  corned  beef,  not  roast  beef." 

The  boy,  stiffening  himself  into  the  posture  of  a  private 
soldier  at  sight  of  his  officer,  cried  in  a  groaning  voice  : 

"  Say  corned  beef,  not  roast  beef !  "  and  Galloon  howled  in 
sympathy. 

"  Again,  if  you  please." 

"  Say  corned  beef,  not  roast  beef  ! "  bawled  the  youth  ;  and 
Galloon's  howl  rose  high  in  suffering. 

"  Once  more." 

The  boy  bellowed,  and  the  dog's  accompaniment  made  a 
horrible  duet. 

Scarcely  had  the  noise  ceased  when  Van  Laar  opening  his 
door,  put  his  head  out,  and  cried  : 

"  Vhas  dere  cornedt  beef  ready  ? " 

"You  will  give  that  man  ship's  bread  for  his  dinner,"  said 
Greaves  calmly.  "If  he  shows  his  nose  again  I  will  have  a 
hammock  slung  for  him  in  the  lazarettc — the  lazarette  or  the 
fore-peak— he  may  take  his  choice  ;  but  the  hatch  will  be  kept 
on." 

These  words  had  no  sooner  left  the  captain's  lips  than  Van 
Laar  came  out  of  his  berth. 

"  You  debrive  me  of  my  liberty,"  he  shouted  in  his  deepest 


84  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

tones,  "  and  I  vhas  content  till  ve  meets  mit  a  schip  to  take  me 
out  of  dis  beesly  hooker.  But,  by  Cott  !  mine  dinner  vhas  to 
be  someding  more  dan  schip's  bread,  or  I  vhas  sorry  for  you, 
Dis  is  Mynheer  Tulp's  schip.  I  oxpects  my  full  rations.  If 
not,  I  goes  to  der  law  vhen  1  gets  home,  and  I  takes  der  bedt 
from  oonder  you  und  your  vife.  A  pretty  consbiracy — first 
against  mine  liberty  and  now  against  mine  appetite.  I  have 
brought  my  hogs,  as  you  Englishmen  say,  to  a  nice  market  in- 
deedt." 

"  Mr.  Fielding,"  said  Captain  Greaves  quietly,  "  step  on  deck, 
if  you  please,  and  send  Yan  Bol  to  me  with  the  bilboes.  You 
will  keep  the  deck  till  Yan  Bol  returns." 

I  hastened  up  the  ladder,  and  found  Yan  Bol  tramping  to 
and  fro.     I  repeated  the  captain's  instructions  to  him, 

"  Who  vhas  der  bilboes  for  ? "  said  he,  in  a  voice  that  trem- 
bled upon  the  ear  with  the  power  of  its  volume. 

"Van  Laar,"  said  I. 

He  looked  not  in  the  least  surprised. 

"  For  Herr  Van  Laar.  I  shall  hov  to  pick  out  der  biggest ;  " 
and  he  went  forward  to  fetch  the  bilboes,  as  the  irons  in  which 
sailors'  legs  were  imprisoned  were  in  those  days  termed. 

We  had  considerably  risen  the  sail  that  I  had  made  out 
shortly  before  eight  bells,  and  I  took  the  telescope  from  the 
companion  way  to  look  at  her.  She  was  apparently  a  small 
brig,  smaller  than  the  Black  Watch,  visible  as  yet  above  the 
horizon  to  the  line  of  her  bulwark  rails  only.  I  found  some- 
thing singular  in  the  trim  of  her  canvas,  but  she  was  too  far  off 
at  present  to  make  sure  of  in  any  direction  of  character,  ton- 
nage, or  aspect,  and  I  returned  the  glass  to  its  brackets,  satis- 
fied at  all  events  to  have  discovered  that  she  was  heading  to 
cross  our  hawse,  and  would  be  within  easy  speaking  distance 
anon. 

Bol  came  aft  with  the  bilboes  and  descended  into  the  cabin, 
whence  very  soon  afterward  there  arose  through  the  open  sky- 
light a  great  noise  of  voices.  Van  Laar  was  giving  trouble. 
He  declined  to  sit  quietly  while  Yan  Bol  fitted  him.  His  deep 
voice  roared  out  Dutch  oaths,  intermingled  with  insults  in  Eng- 
lish leveled  at  Captain  Greaves. 

Galloon  barked  furiously,  and  Yan  Bol's  deeper  notes  rolled 
upw'ard  like  the  sound  of  thunder  above  the  explosions  of 
artillery.  Presently  I  heard  a  noise  of  wrestling;  then  Van 
Laar  called  out  : 

"All    right,    all    right!      Let    me     go!      Put   her   on!       I 


JVE    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  85 

vhas  quiet  now,  but   after  dis,  if  I   vhas  you,  I   vould  hang 
myself." 

His  voice  was  then  muffled,  as  though  he  had  been  dragged 
or  carried  into  his  cabin,  and  a  few  minutes  later  Yan  Bol  came 
on  deck,  lifting  his  hair  with  one  hand  and  wiping  the  sweat 
from  under  it  with  the  other. 

"  He  gifs  too  much  trouble,"  said  he,  with  a  massive  shake 
of  his  head,  "  it  vhas  not  right.  He  vhas  a  badt  sailor,  too.  I 
could  have  told  Captain  Greaves  dot  before  we  sailed  from 
Amsterdam.  Van  Laar  put  a  ship  ashore  two  years  ago.  He 
vhas  too  fat  and  lazy  for  der  sea.  He  vhas  ignorant,  and  has 
not  a  sailor's  heart  in  him." 

"  I  do  not  know  what  sort  of  a  sailor  he  is,"  said  I,  "  but  a 
more  insulting  son  of  a  swab  I  never  met  in  my  life." 

"  Dere's  a  ship  dot  may  take  him,"  said  Bol,  leveling  a  hand 
as  big  as  a  shovel  at  the  sea. 

"  Mr.  Bol,  please  to  keep  your  eye  upon  her  while  I  am 
below,"  said  I ;  "  one  needs  to  be  wary  in  these  waters." 

"Let  me  look  at  her,"  said  he,  and  he  fetched  the  glass. 
"  Dere  vhas  noting  for  dis  brig  to  be  afraid  of  in  her"  said  he, 
after  a  slow  Dutch  gaze  and  ruminating  pause  ;  "  it  vhas  not 
all  right,  I  belief,  but  vhat  vhas  wrong  mit  her  vhas  right  for 
us." 

Jimmy  passed  with  the  cabin  dinner  from  the  galley.  A 
minute  later  he  arrived  to  report  it  served.  I  went  below,  and 
was  about  to  sit  down  when  I  suddenly  exclaimed  : 

"  Hark,  what  is  that?" 

"  Van  Laar  singing,"  said  Greaves. 

He  took  his  seat,  looking  very  severely,  but  on  a  sudden  his 
face  collapsed,  and  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter. 

*'  Ye  Gods,  what  a  voice  !  "  he  cried.  "  He  is  improvising, 
and  pretty  cleverly  too.  He  is  asking  in  Dutch  for  his  dinner, 
rhyming  as  he  goes  along  and  shouting  his  fancies  to  a  Dutch 
air.  Yet  shall  he  get  no  beef,  though  he  should  sing  till  his 
windpipe  splits.  I  am  getting  mighty  sick  of  this  business. 
What  of  the  sail  ?  " 

"We  are  rising  her  fairly  fast  and  she's  heading  our  way. 
The  wind  is  taking  off  and  I  don't  think  we  shall  be  abreast 
much  before  another  hour." 

Van  Laar  ceased  to  sing. 

"Is  Jimmy  an  idiot?"  said  I,  when  the  lad's  back  was 
turned. 

Not  at  all.     He  is  a  very  honest  lad,  with  the  strength  of 


u 


86  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

two  mules  in  his  limbs.  He  has  sailed  with  me  before.  I  have 
carried  him  on  this  voyage  because  of  his  foolishness.  I  did 
not  want  too  much  forecastle  intelligence  to  be  dodging  about 
my  table." 

"  Hark  !  "  said  I,  "  Van  Laar  is  calling." 

"  Captain,"  roared  the  voice  of  the  Dutchman,  in  syllables 
perfectly  distinct,  though  dulled  by  the  bulkhead  which  his 
lungs  had  to  penetrate,  "  vhas  I  to  hov  any  dinner  ?  Dis  vhas 
Mynheer  Tulp's  ship.     I  vhas  sorry  for  you  if  you  starf  me." 

Jimmy  returned. 

"  When  did  Mr.  Van  Laar  breakfast  ?  "  said  Greaves  to  him. 

The  youth  looked  up  at  the  clock  in  the  skylight,  and  an- 
swered instantly  : 

"  At  one  bell,  master,"  meaning  half-past  eight. 

"What  did  he  have?" 

"  A  trayful,  master,"  and  I  noticed  that  the  boy  talked 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  Galloon,  while  the  dog  looked  up  at  him 
as  though  ready  to  howl  presently. 

"  But  what  did  he  have  ?  " 

"  He  had  coffee,  mutton  chops,  sights  of  biscuits,  a  tin  of 
preserved  pork,  more  biscuit,  master,  ay,  and  fried  bacon — 
twice  he  sent  me  to  the  galley  for  fried  bacon,  and  he  was 
eating  from  one  bell  till  hard  upon  fower." 

"  There  are  no  mutton  chops  on  board  this  ship,"  said 
Greaves,  "  and  as  to  tins  of  preserved  pork — but  you  will 
guess,"  said  he,  looking  at  me,  "  that  the  hog's  trough  was 
liberally  brimmed  ;  and  still  the  beast  grunts.     Listen  !  " 

Van  Laar  was  now  singing  again.  Presently  he  ceased  and 
talked  loudly  to  himself.  He  then  fell  silent ;  but  by  this  time 
Greaves  and  I  had  dined  and  we  went  on  deck. 

The  brig,  that  had  seemingly  shifted  her  course,  as  though  to 
stand  across  our  hawse,  was  lying  hove-to  off  the  weather  bow. 
There  was  a  color  at  the  peak.  I  brought  the  glass  to  bear 
and  made  out  the  English  ensign,  union  down.  She  had  a 
very  weedy  and  worn  look  as  she  lay  rolling  and  pitcliing  some- 
what heavily  upon  the  light  swell.  Her  sails  beat  the  masts 
with  dislocating  thumps,  and  in  imagination  I  could  hear  the 
twang  of  her  rigging  to  the  buckling  of  her  spars.  She  was 
timber  laden  ;  the  timber  rose  above  her  rails. 

"  What  on  earth  is  she  towing?  "  exclaimed  Greaves,  looking 
at  her  through  the  glass. 

I  could  not  make  the  object  out  ;  something  black,  re- 
sembling a  small  capsized  jolly-boat,  rose  and  fell  close  astern 


IVE    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  87 

of  her.  It  jumped  with  a  wet  flash,  then  disappeared  past  the 
brow  of  a  swell,  jumped  again  and  vanished  as  though  hoisted 
and  sunk  by  human  agency.  We  ran  the  ensign  aloft  and 
bore  slowly  down,  and  when  we  were  within  speaking  distance 
hove  to. 

Presently  we  made  out  the  queer  flashful  object  astern  of  the 
dirty,  woe-begone  little  brig  to  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
a  large  cask,  suspended  at  the  end  of  the  trysail  gaff ;  the  line 
was  rove  through  a  big  block  up  there  and  led  forward,  but 
into  what  part  of  the  ship  I  could  not  then  perceive.  Three 
men  were  squatted  on  the  timber  that  was  built  round  about 
the  galley  chimney  ;  their  hands  clasped  their  knees,  they  eyed 
us  with  their  chins  on  their  breasts.  The  melancholy  appeal 
of  the  inverted  ensign  was  not  a  little  accentuated  by  the  dis- 
tressful posture  of  those  three  squatting  men.  A  fourth  man 
stood  aft.  He  was  clad  in  a  long  yellow  coat,  and  wore  a  red 
shawl  round  his  neck,  and  a  hat  like  a  Quaker's.  When  we 
were  within  speaking  distance,  and  silence  had  followed  the 
operation  of  bringing  the  brig  to  a  stand,  the  man  in  the  yellow 
coat  called  in  a  wild,  melancholy  voice  across  the  water  : 

"Brig  ahoy!" 

"  Hallo  ! " 

"Will  you  send  a  boat?" 

"  What  is  wrong  with  you  ?  " 

"  Anan  ? " 

"What  is  wrong  with  you?  "  roared  Greaves. 

"  There's  nothen'  that's  right  with  us,"  was  the  answer. 

"  What  ship  is  that  ?  " 

"  The  Commodore  Nelson^ 

"Where  are  you  from,  and  where  are  you  bound  to?" 

"  From  Quebec  to  the  Clyde." 

"  The  Clyde  !  "  exclaimed  Greaves,  looking  at  me.  "  Where 
does  he  make  the  Clyde  to  flow  ?  But  he's  homeward  bound, 
and  you  shall  induce  him  to  take  Van  Laar.  Go  over  to  him, 
Fielding,  and  see  what  is  wrong;"  and  he  called  across  the 
water  to  the  man  in  the  yellow  coat,  "  I  will  send  a  boat." 

A  boat  was  lowered  ;  four  men  and  myself  entered  her.  We 
pulled  alongside  the  ^allowing  little  brig,  and  I  clambered 
aboard.  It  was  like  hearkening  to  the  sound  of  a  swaymg 
cradle.  She  creaked  in  every  pore,  creaked  from  masthead 
to  jib  boom  end,  from  the  eyes  to  the  taffrail.  She  was  full  of 
wood  and  rolled  with  deadly  lunges.  The  three  men  continued 
to  sit  upon  th^  timber  that  was  piled  round  about  the  galley 


88  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

chimney.  They  turned  their  eyes  upon  me  when  I  stepped  on 
board,  but  seemed  incapable  of  taking  more  exercise  than 
that. 

I  made  my  way  over  the  deck  cargo  to  where  the  man  in  the 
yellow  coat  was  standing,  and  as  I  went  I  observed  that  the 
end  of  the  line  which  was  rove  through  the  block  attached  to 
the  gaff  led  through  another  block,  secured  near  one  of  the 
pumps  and  fastened — that  is  to  say,  the  end  of  the  line  was 
fastened — to  the  brake  or  handle  of  the  pump,  which  was  fre- 
quently and  violently  jerked,  causing  water  to  gush  forth,  but 
intermittently  and  spasmodically. 

"What  is  wrong  with  you  ?"  said  I,  approaching  the  man 
who  awaited  me  instead  of  advancing  to  receive  me,  as  though 
he  had  some  particular  reason  in  desiring  to  converse  with  me 
aft. 

"  Everything  is  wrong,"  he  answered,  in  a  patient,  melancholy 
voice.     "  First  of  all,  will  ye  tell  me  what's  to-day  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  the  day  of  the  week  or  the  day  of  the 
month  ? " 

"  Both,"  he  answered. 

Not  a  little  astonished  by  this  question,  I  supplied  him  with 
the  information  he  desired. 

"  Thought  as  much,"  said  he,  mildly  jerking  his  fist.  "  Two 
days  wrong.  Yesterday  was  my  birthday  and  a'  never  knew 
it." 

"  Did  you  say  that  you  are  bound  to  the  Clyde  ?  " 

*'  That's  where  this  cargo's  consigned  to,"  he  answered,  "  and 
of  course  us  men  go  along  with  it." 

"  What  are  you  doing  down  in  these  latitudes  ?  " 

He  gazed  round  the  sea  with  a  lost-my-way  expression  of 
eye,  and  replied  : 

"  I  don't  know  where  we  are." 

"  The  Canary  Islands  bear  about  thirty  leagues  east-south- 
east," said  I. 

He  stared  at  the  horizon  as  though,  by  looking  hard,  he 
would  see  the  Canary  Islands. 

"Pray,  what  are  you?"  said  I,  looking  at  him  and  then 
glancing  at  his  little  ship  and  the  three  men  who  sat  disconso- 
lately clasping  their  knees  on  top  of  the  deck-load. 

"  I  am  the  second  mate  and  carpenter." 

"  Where's  your  captain  ?  " 

"  Gone  blind  and  mad,"  he  answered, 

"  And  your  mate  ?  " 


IV£    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  89 

"  Gone  dead,"  he  replied,  "  it's  been  an  uncomfortable  voyage 
so  far,"  he  continued,  speaking  with  patient  melancholy  and 
with  an  odd  expression  of  expectation  in  his  eyes.  "  We  left 
Quebec,  and  the  mate  he  takes  on  and  dies.     He  couldn't  help 

it,  poor  chap,  but  t'other "  He  gazed  at  the  deck  as  though 

to  direct  my  imagination  below.  "It  was  drink,  drink  all 
around  the  clock  with  him  ;  no  sharing — a  up-in-the-corner 
job  ;  cuddling  a  bottle  all  day  long  and  the  blinds  drawed. 
Then  he  goes  mad.  That  aint  enough.  Then  he  goes  blind. 
That  aint  enough.  What  must  he  do  but  break  a  leg  !  And 
there  he  lies,"  said  he,  pointing  straight  down  with  a  forefinger 
pale  as  though  boiled,  like  a  laundress's  hand.  "  The  naviga- 
tion was  left  to  me — 'deed,  then,  it  had  been  left  to  me  for 
some  time — but  /  never  shipped  to  know  navigation.  No  fear. 
Me,  indeed  !  "  he  exclaimed,  laughing  dully.  "  I'm  a  carpenter 
by  trade.  However,  here  I  was  ;  so  I  hove  the  log  and  steered 
east,  and  here  I  am  ! "  he  exclaimed  with  another  patient, 
forlorn  look  around  the  ocean. 

"  You  have  lost  your  way,"  said  I.  "  You  are  not  the  first 
sailor  who  has  lost  his  way.  But  have  you  never  sighted  any- 
thing with  a  skipper  to  give  you  the  latitude  and  the  longitude 
and  a  true  course  for  the  Clyde  ?" 

"  Plenty  have  we  sighted,  but  nothing  that  would  speak  us. 
The  only  thing  that  showed  a  willingness  to  speak  us  turned 
out  a  privateer,  and  night  drawing  down,"  he  exclaimed, 
slightly  deepening  his  voice,  "  saved  our  throats." 

"  That  cask  astern  of  you,"  said  I,  "  is  a  novel  dodge  for 
keeping  your  ship  pumped  out." 

A  little  life  came  into  his  melancholy  eye. 

"  The  men  took  ill,"  said  he.  "  Five  of  them  were  down, 
and  still  are  down,  and  the  nursing  of  'em  all,  including  of  the 
captain,  blind  and  mad,  and  the  cook  unable  to  stand  with 
dropsy,  is  beginning  to  tell  upon  my  spirits." 

"  That  I  can  believe." 

"  There  was  but  four  men  left.  There  sits  three  of  'em. 
Who  was  to  do  the  pumping?  The  swinging  of  a  yard's  pretty 
nigh  as  much  as  we  can  manage.  I  didn't  want  to  get  water- 
logged :  I  wish  to  get  home.  My  wife'll  be  wondering  what's 
become  of  me.  So,  after  thinking  a  bit,  I  rigs  up  this  here 
pumping  apparatus,  as  ye  see,  and  if  the  weather  holds  fine, 
and  the  drag  of  the  cask  don't  jump  the  pump  out,  I  think  it'll 
answer." 

"  Well,"  said  I,  "  what  can  we  do  for  you  ? " 


90  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"  I  should  like  to  be  put  in  the  way  of  getting  home,  sir,"  he 
answered.  "  We  don't  want  for  food  and  water.  There  aint 
no  purser  like  sickness,"  he  exclaimed  with  a  melancholy 
smile.  "When  I  fell  in  with  your  brig  I  was  a-steering  east, 
with  the  hope  of  making  the  land  and  coming  across  some 
village  or  town  where  I  might  larn  what  the  day  of  the  month 
was,  and  how  to  head.  It's  one  thing  not  to  know  what's 
o'clock,  but  I  tell  ye  it  makes  a  man  feel  weak  in  the  mind  to 
lose  reckoning  of  the  day  of  the  week  and  not  know  what  the 
date.of  the  month  is." 

"  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

"  Tarbrick,  sir." 

"Well,  Mr.  Tarbrick,  we  shall  be  able  to  be  of  service  to  you, 
I  believe.  We  have  a  Dutchman  on  board  who  wants  to  get 
home.  He  and  the  captain  have  fallen  out,  and  the  Dutchman 
desires  to  return  by  the  first  passing  ship.  You  may  guess 
that  he  speaks  English,  and  that  he  is  a  navigator,  when  I  tell 
you  he  was  mate  of  that  vessel.     Will  you  receive  him  ?  " 

"Will  I  ?  "  he  cried,  his  face  lighting  up.  "Why,  he's  just 
the  man  we  want." 

"  Is  there  nothing  else  we  can  do  for  you  .'  " 

"No,  sir  ;  and  I  never  reckoned  on  getting  so  much,"  he 
answered  mildly  and  sadly.  "  I  reckoned  only  on  larning  the 
day  of  the  week  and  the  date  of  the  month,  and  getting  the 
course  for  a  straight  steer  home." 

"  Keep  all  fast  as  you  are,"  said  I,  "and  I  will  return  to  you." 

I  dropped  into  the  boat  and  was  rowed  aboard  the  brig. 
Greaves  was  impatiently  walking  the  deck.  He  came  to  that 
part  of  the  rail  over  which  I  climbed,  and  said  : 

"Will  the  brig  take  Van  Laar  ?  " 

I  answered,  "  Yes." 

His  face  instantly  cleared.  I  gave  him  the  story  of  the 
Commodore  Nelson^  as  it  had  been  related  to  me  by  Mr.  Tar- 
brick, and  explained  the  object  of  the  cask  under  the  stern  and 
the  lines  rove  from  it  to  the  pump  handle.  He  laughed,  but 
there  was  a  note  of  admiration  in  his  laughter. 

"  That  Tarbrick  is  no  fool,  spite  of  his  thinking  the  Clyde 
lies  down  this  way.  I  have  heard  of  worse  notions  than  that 
of  making  a  ship  pump  herself  out.  The  cask  is  half  full  of 
water,  I  suppose  ?" 

"It  would  not  be  heavy  enough  for  the  down-drag  unless  it 
were  half  full  of  water,"  said  I. 

"And  it  is  guyed  to  either  quarter,  of  course,"  he  continued. 


(( 


WE    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  91 

"otherwise,  when  the  brig  moves,  it  must  be  towed  directly 
from  the  gaff-end,  which  would  never  do.  A  clever  notion. 
Bol  !  " 

The  boatswain,  who  was  standing  forward  looking  at  the 
brig,  immediately  came  aft. 

"Come  below  with  me,"  said  the  captain,  "and  free  Van 
Laar.  That  brig  will  receive  him.  Keep  your  boat  over  the 
side,  Mr.  Fielding,  and  stand  by  to  receive  Van  Laar  and  his 
clothes." 

They  entered  the  cabin.  In  a  few  minutes  I  heard  a  con- 
fused noise  of  voices.  Van  Laar's  tones  were  distinguishable, 
but  I  could  not  collect  what  he  said.  Bol  came  under  the  sky- 
light and  asked  me  to  send  down  a  couple  of  hands  to  bring 
up  Van  Laar's  chest.  Presently  Van  Laar  cried  out,  "  Disvhas 
Mynheer  Tulp's  schip,  and  you  vhas  kicking  me  out  of  her." 

"You  leave  at  your  own  request,"  I  heard  Greaves  say. 

"  Dot  vhas  valse,"  shouted  the  Dutchman.  "  But  you  are  a 
whole  ship's  gompany  to  von  man.  Yet  vill  I  have  der  bed 
from  oonder  you  und  your  vife." 

Now  step  on  deck,  if  you  please." 

Dere  law "   but  the  rest  was  lost  to  my  ear  by  the 

Dutchman  getting  into  the  companion  way.  He  emerged, 
looking  very  pale,  greasy,  even  fatter  than  he  had  before 
shown  ;  scowled  when  he  met  my  glance,  stared  around  him 
with  the  bewilderment  of  a  newly-released  man,  and  called 
out,  "Vere  is  der  schip?"  He  saw  her  as  he  spoke,  shaded 
his  eyes  while  he  looked  at  her,  and,  falling  back  a  step, 
exclaimed,  "I  vhas  not  going  home  in  dot  schip." 

"That  is  the  ship,  and  you  are  going  home  in  her,"  said 
Greaves.  "The  boat  is  alongside,  and  Mr.  Fielding  waits  for 
you  to  jump  in." 

"  You  vhas  sorry  for  dis  by  an'  by.  Do  you  inten'  dot  I 
should  drown  by  your  sending  me  to  dot  footy  hooker?  Who 
has  been  on  boardt  her?"  he  shouted,  looking  around  him  with 
a  frown;  "you,  sir  ?"  cried  he  to  me.  "  Vot  vhos  dot  oonder 
her  taffrail  ?     I  must  know  vot  dot  vhas  before  I  stir  !  " 

"It's  nothing  that  will  hurt  you,"  answered  Greaves,  who,  as 
I  might  see,  dared  not  meet  my  gaze  for  fear  of  laughing. 

"  Vhat  vhas  it,  I  ask  ?  I  hov  a  right  to  know  ;  "  and  here  the 
poor  fat  fellow,  for  whom  I  was  beginning  to  feel  a  sort  of  pity, 
made  spectacles  of  his  thumbs  and  forefingers,  and  put  them 
to  his  eyes  to  stare  at  the  cask  and  repeated,  "  Vhat  vhas  it  ? 
Sir,  oblige  me  by  handing  nie  dere  glass." 


92  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

"  Mr.  Van  Laar,"  said  Greaves,  "  I  should  regret  to  use  force, 
but  if  you  don't  instantly  get  into  that  boat  I  shall  have  you 
lifted  over  the  side  and  dropped  into  her." 

"Who  vhas  it  dot  has  been  on  boardt  ?  Vhas  it  you,  sir?" 
cried  the  Dutchman,  again  addressing  me.  "  Dos  she  leak  ? 
Vot  vhis  her  cargo  ?  Vot  are  her  stores  ?  I  have  had  no  dinner, 
and  you  are  sending  me  to  a  schip  dot  may  be  stone  proke." 

All  this  while  the  crew  of  the  brig,  saving  those  in  the  boat, 
had  been  standing  in  the  fore-part,  looking  on.  I  thought  to 
find  some  signs  of  sympathy  with  Van  Laar  among  the  Dutch 
seamen,  but  if  sympathy  were  felt,  it  found  no  expression  in 
their  faces  or  bearing.  The  grinning  had  been  broad  and  con- 
tinuous, but  now  I  cauglit  a  murmur  or  two  of  impatience  that 
might  have  signified  disgust. 

"  Will  you  enter  the  boat  ? "  cried  Greaves.  Van  Laar  began 
to  protest.  "Aft  here,  some  of  you,"  exclaimed  Greaves,  "  and 
help  Mr.  Van  Laar  over  the  side." 

The  Dutchman  immediately  went  to  the  rail,  crawled  over  it, 
breathing  heavily,  then  pausing  when  he  was  outside,  while  he 
still  grasped  the  rim,  and  while  nothing  was  visible  of  him  but 
his  fat  face  above  the  rail,  he  roared  out : 

"  Down  mit  dot  beastly  country,  England  !  Hurrah  for  der 
law  !  Hurrah  for  der  right !  Ach,  boot  I  vhas  sorry  for  you 
by  an'  by." 

He  then  dropped  into  the  boat,  I  followed,  and  we  shoved 
off.  Galloon  barked  at  the  Dutchman  as  we  rowed  away. 
Van  Laar  talked  aloud  to  himself,  constantly  wiping  his  face. 
His  speech  was  Dutch,  and  I  did  not  understand  what  he  said. 
Presently  he  broke  out  in  English  : 

"  Yaw  ;  a  timber  cargo.  Dot  vhas  my  fear.  Dere  you  vhas, 
and  dot's  to  be  my  home,  and  vot  oonder  der  sky  is  dot  cask 
oonder  der  taffrail  ?  Der  schip's  provisions  ?  Very  like,  very 
like.  She  hov  a  starved  look.  And  who  vhas  dose  dree  men 
sitting  up  dere?  Vhas  dot  der  captain  in  dere  yellow  coat? 
He  hov  der  look  of  a  man  who  lives  on  rats.  An'  I  ask  vhat 
dos  a  timber  schip  do  down  here  ?  By  Gott  !  I  do  not  like  the 
look  of  her." 

I  paid  no  attention  to  his  words,  and  put  on  a  frowning  face 
to  preserve  my  gravity,  which  was  severely  taxed,  not  more  by 
Van  Laar's  talk  and  appearance  than  by  the  grins  of  the  men 
who  were  rowing  the  boat.  We  approached  the  brig,  and  Mr. 
Tarbrick  came  to  the  main  rigging,  as  tliough  he  would  have 
me  steer  the  boat  alongside  under  the  main  chains, 


IV£    TRANSHIP    VAN  LAAR.  93 

• 

"Brick,  ahoy  !  "  shouted  Van  Laar,  standing  up,  and  setting 
his  thick  legs  apart  to  balance  himself ;  for  the  boat  swayed 
with  some  liveliness  upon  the  swell  that  was  running. 

"  Hallo  !  "  responded  Tarbrick,  with  a  flourish  of  his  hand. 

"  Vhat  vhas  dot  cask  oonder  your  shtern  ?" 

"  It  keeps  the  pump  a-going,"  cried  Tarbrick. 

"Goot  anchells  !"  cried  Van  Laar,  "do  I  onderstand  that 
you  hov  not  a  schip's  gompany  strong  enough  to  keep  der 
pumps  manned  ?" 

"  We  are  four  well  men  and  myself,"  shouted  Tarbrick  ; 
"the  rest  are  sick." 

"  I  do  not  go  home  in  dot  schip,"  said  Van  Laar,  sitting  down. 

"  Oars  !  "  I  cried,  as  we  swept  alongside.  "  Mr.  Van  Laar, 
I  beg  you  will  step  on  board.  Pray  give  us  no  trouble.  You 
must  go,  you  know,  though  it  should  come  to  my  having  to  send 
for  fresh  hands  to  whip  you  aboard,"  by  which  word  zvhip  he 
perfectly  well  understood  me  to  mean  a  tackle  made  fast  to  the 
yardarm,  used  for  hoisting.  "  Mr.  Tarbrick,  call  those  three 
fellows  of  yours  aft  to  get  this  chest  over  the  side." 

The  three  m.en  rose  in  a  lifeless  way  from  the  top  of  the 
timber,  shambled  to  abreast  of  the  boat  in  a  lifeless  way,  and 
in  a  lifeless  way  still  dragged  up  Van  Laar's  sea-chest,  to  the 
grummet  handle  of  which  a  rope  had  been  attached. 

"  On  deck  dere,"  called  A^an  Laar,  getting  up  again  and 
planting  his  legs  apart,  "  how  moch  do  you  leak  in  der  hour  ?" 

I  winked  at  Tarbrick,  who  was  leaning  over  the  rail,  but  the 
man  was  either  a  fool  or  did  not  catch  my  wink,  for  he  answered, 
in  his  melancholy  voice  : 

"  It's  a-drainin'  in  very  unpleasantly.  I  han't  sounded  the 
well  since  this  morning,  but,"  he  added,  as  though  to  encourage 
Van  Laar,  "we're  full  of  timber  and  can't  sink." 

Down  sat  the  Dutchman  again,  with  a  weight  of  fall  upon  the 
thwart  that  made  the  boat  throw  a  couple  of  little  seas  away 
from  her  quarters. 

"  Here  I  stliop,"  he  said,  doggedly  folding  his  arms. 

"  You  Avill  force  me  to  row  back  to  the  brig,  obtain  fresh 
hands,  and  whip  you  aboard,  Mr.  Van  Laar." 

"  You  vhas  a  big,"  he  said,  without  looking  at  me. 

"  Men,"  he  exclaimed,  addressing  the  seamen  in  the  boat, 
"  dere  Black  Vatch  belongs  to  Mynheer  Tulp,  I  vhas  mate  of 
her  by  Mynheer  Tulp's  consent.  Vill  you  allow  your  lawful 
mate  to  be  put  into  dis  beast  of  a  schip,  to  starf,  to  drown,  to 
miserably  perish  ? " 


94  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

• 

**  You  had  better  jump  on  board,"  said  one  of  the  men. 

"  Cast  off  !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  I  must  return  to  Captain 
Greaves  for  further  instructions." 

"  Shtop  !  "  shouted  the  Dutchman.  "  On  deck  dere,  how 
vhas  you  off  for  provisions  ?" 

"  Very  well  off,"  answered  Tarbrick.  "  There's  plenty  to 
eat  aboard  this  here  brig." 

"  And  how  vhas  you  off  for  drink  ?  " 

"Come  and  judge  for  yourself,  sir.  There's  been  too  much 
drink.     It's  been  the  ruin  of  us,"  r^daimed  Tarbrick. 

On  this  Van  Laar,  putting  lus  liands  upon  the  laniards  of 
the  main  rigging,  got  into  the  chains.  We  instantly  shoved  off 
and  were  at  some  lengths  from  him  while  he  was  still  heavily 
clambering  on  to  the  deck. 

"Blowed  if  his  weight  don't  make  the  little  craft  heel  again," 
exclaimed  one  of  the  men.  "  See  what  a  list  to  larboard  she's 
took." 

I  regained  the  Black  Watch  mightily  rejoiced  that  the 
Dutchman  was  off  my  hands.  So  vast  a  mass  of  flesh  had  made 
the  transferring  of  it  a  very  formidable  undertaking.  He  was  an 
elephant  of  a  man  ;  it  needed  but  an  impassioned  gambol  or 
two  on  his  part  to  capsize  a  boat  three  times  larger  than  any- 
thing the  Black  Watch  carried.  Besides,  Van  Laar  was  not  the 
sort  of  man  that  one  would  care  to  sacrifice  one's  life  for.  As 
we  pulled  away  I  looked  over  my  shoulder,  and  now  the 
Dutchman  had  cleared  the  rail  and  was  wiping  his  face,  with 
Tarbrick  in  the  act  of  approaching  him.  When  he  saw  that  I 
looked  he  shook  his  first  and  roared.  His  words  fell  short  ; 
his  tones  alone  came  along  like  the  low  of  a  cow.  My  men 
burst  into  a  laugh,  and  a  minute  later  we  were  alongside  the 
Black  Watch. 

The  moment  the  boat  was  hoisted  we  trimmed  sail  and  were 
presently  pushing  through  the  quiet  glide  of  the  dark  blue  swell, 
and  very  soon  the  magic  of  distance  was  dealing  with  the  poor 
little  craft  in  our  wake.  The  afternoon  was  advanced,  the 
light  in  the  heavens  afid  upon  the  water  was  soft  and  red  and 
still.  In  the  south  clouds  were  terraced  upon  the  horizon, 
every  towering  layer  of  radiant  vapor  defined  with  an  edging  of 
gilt.  There  was  wind  enough  to  keep  the  water  sparkling 
wherever  the  light  smote  it ;  our  sails  soared  like  breasts  of 
yellow  silk  breathing  without  noise  to  the  courtesying  of  the 
craft. 

A  rich  ocean  afternoon  it  was,  and  the  beauty  of  it  entered 


THE   "REBECCA:'  95 

the  little  vessel  which  we  were  leaving  astern  of  us  even  as  a 
spirit  might,  vitalizing  her  with  colors  and  with  a  radiance  not 
her  own,  converting  her  into  a  gem-like  detail  for  the  embellish- 
ment of  the  wide,  bare  breast  of  sea.  Greaves  and  I  stood 
looking  at  her  ;  but  the  instant  I  leveled  the  telescope  the  en- 
chantment vanished,  for  then  she  showed  as  a  crazy  old  brig 
once  more,  a  cask  in  tow  of  her,  her  sails  ill-set,  and  the  bulky 
figure  of  Van  Laar  striding  here  and  there,  with  many  marks 
of  agitation  in  his  motions. 

"  The  captain  mad  and  blind  in  the  cabin,"  said  Greaves  ; 
"  five  men  sick  in  the  forecastle  and  the  others  crushed  in  spirits, 
forecastle  fare  for  cabin  fare,  and  bad  at  that  ;  the  water  drain- 
ing into  the  hold  ;  and  the  vessel  fearfully  to  the  southward  of 
her  destination.     I  do  not  envy  Van  Laar." 

However,  long  before  we  ran  the  little  vessel  out  of  sight, 
they  had  got  her  head  pointed  in  a  direction  that  was  right  for 
the  British  Channel,  if  not  the  Clyde.  The  breeze  had  freshened, 
she  was  leaning  over,  and  the  cask  astern  had  been  cut  adrift. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE    "  REBECCA." 

Now,  when  Van  Laar  was  gone  all  hands  of  us  seemed  to 
settle  down  very  comfortably  to  the  rough,  hard,  simple  disci- 
pline of  the  sea-life.  The  more  I  saw  of  Greaves,  the  more  I 
saw  of  the  brig,  the  better  I  liked  both.  Over  and  over  again 
I  congratulated  myself  upon  my  good  fortune.  I  seemed  to 
trace  it  all  to  that  gibbet  on  the  sand  hills.  I  know  not  why. 
What  more  ghastly,  what  more  hideously  ominous,  you  might  say, 
could  the  mind  of  man  imagine  than  a  gibbet  and  a  dead  felon 
hanging  from  it  in  irons,  and  a  mother  receiving  the  horrible 
burthen  of  the  beam  from  the  fire-bright  hand  of  the  storm,  and 
nursing  the  fearful  object  as  though  it  were  once  again  the  babe 
that  she  had  suckled  ?  What  more  hideously  ominous  than 
such  things  could  man  ask  of  Heaven  to  initiate  his  career  with, 
to  inaugurate  a  new  departure  with  ?  But  that  gibbet  it  was 
which  kept  me  waiting  when  by  walking  I  must  have  missed 
the  press-gang  and,  for  all  I  can  now  tell,  have  safely  got  me 
aboard  the  Royal  Bruuswicker. 

Be  this  as  it  will.  I  liked  Greaves  ;  I  liked  his  little  ship  ; 
I  liked  my  position  on  board  of  her  ;  and  I  could  find  no  fault 
with  the  crew.     The  people  of  my  watch  ran  about  without 


9^'  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

murmurs.  Yan  Bol  seemed  to  have  the  whole  company  well 
in  hand.  The  spun-yarn  winch  was  often  a-going  ;  we  were  a 
very  clean  ship  ;  the  complicated  machinery  aloft  was  care- 
fully looked  to  ;  the  long  guns  were  kept  bright.  I  had  over- 
hauled the  slop-chest  and  taken  what  I  wanted,  and  there  lay, 
in  a  big  sea-box  which  Greaves  had  somewhere  fished  out  for 
me,  as  comfortable  a  stock  of  clothes  as  ever  I  could  wish  to 
sail  out  of  port  with. 

I  did  not  imagine,  however,  that  the  crew  would  long  con- 
tent themselves  with  what,  while  Greaves  remained  dumb, 
must  be  to  them  no  more  nor  less  than  an  aimless  sailing  over 
the  breast  of  the  ocean.  Sailors  do  not  love  to  be  long  at  sea 
without  making  a  voyage.  Our  crew  might  look  at  the  com- 
pass and  note  that  the  course  was  a  straight  one  for  cutting 
the  equator  ;  but  what  imaginations  were  they  to  build  up  on 
the  letters  S.S.W.  ?  We  were  not  a  king's  ship.  There  was  no 
obligation  of  passivity.  The  sailors  were  merchant  seamen, 
claiming  all  the  old  traditional  rights  of  their  calling  ;  of  exer- 
cising those  rights,  at  all  events,  whenever  convenient :  the 
rights  of  grumbling,  cursing,  laying  aft  in  a  body  and  expostu- 
lating, holding  forward  in  a  body  and  turning  deaf  ears  to  the 
boatswain's  miisic.  "  Surely,"  I  would  sometimes  think,  while  I 
paced  the  deck,  eyeing  the  fellows  of  my  watch  at  work, 
"  those  men  will  not  wait  till  we  are  south  of  the  line  to  hear 
what  the  errand  of  this  brig  is  !  " 

It  came  to  pass  that,  a  few  days  after  we  had  got  rid  of  Van 
Laar,  I  went  on  deck  at  midnight  to  take  charge  of  the  brig 
until  four  in  the  morning.  The  noble  wind  of  the  northeast 
trade  was  full  in  our  canvas — a  small,  fresh,  quartering  gale — 
the  sky  lively  with  the  sliding  of  stars  amid  the  steam-tinctured 
heap  of  the  trade-cloud  swarming  away  southwest.  Studding- 
sails  were  out  and  the  brig  hummed  through  it,  shouldering 
the  seas  off  both  bows  into  snowstorms.  The  burly  figure  of 
Yan  Bol  stood  to  windward,  abreast  of  the  little  skylight.  He 
waited  for  me  to  relieve  him,  and,  while  he  waited,  he  sang  to 
himself  in  a  deep  voice,  like  the  drumming  of  the  wind  as  it 
flashed  into  the  hollow  of  the  trysail  and  fled  to  leeward  in  a 
hollow  roar  under  the  boom. 

"  Is  that  you,  Bol  ?  " 

"  Yaw,  it  vhas  her  himself,"  he  answered. 

"  This  will  do,"  said  I,  stepping  up  to  him. 

"  Yaw,  dis  vhas  a  nice  little  draught,"  he  replied. 

I  made  a  few  quarter-deck  inquiries  relating  to_the  business 


THE   ''REBECCA."  97 

of  the  brig  during  his  charge  of  the  deck  since  eight  o'clock, 
and  was  then  going  aft  to  look  at  the  binnacle,  but  stayed  on 
finding  that  he  lingered. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  he,  "  I  vhas  not  very  gladt  to  be  sec- 
ond mate." 

"  Why  not  ?  " 

"  Veil,  I  believe  dot  der  men  vouldt  hov  more  respect  for 
me  if  I  vhas  one  of  demselves." 

"  But  you  are  bo'sun,  anyway,  and  your  rating,  therefore,  is 
higher  than  that  of  the  others." 

"Dot  may  be,"  he  replied,  "but  a  bo'sun  in  der  merchant 
service  vhas  no  better  dan  vhat  you  call  in  your  language  a 
common  sailor.  He  blows  a  whistle  ;  dot,  and  a  dollar  or  two 
more  money,  and  dere  you  hov  der  difference." 

"  Who  else  could  be  second  mate  ?  "  said  I.  "  As  bo'sun  of 
this  vessel  it  would  not  please  you  to  be  ordered  about  by  an 
able  seaman." 

He  was  silent.  It  was  too  dark  to  see  anything  of  the  man 
save  the  shapeless  lump  of  shadow  which  he  made  against  the 
stars  over  the  sea. 

"Mr.  Fielding,"  said  he,  "can  you  tell  me  vhere  dis  brig 
vhas  boun'  to  ?  " 

"  I  know  where  she  is  bound  to,"  I  answered. 

"Ho, you  know,  sir  !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  tone  of  surprise 
trembling  through  his  deep  voice  ;  "  Ve  all  tink  dot  she  vhas 
der  captain's  secret." 

"  If  you  all  did  think  that,"  said  I,  "  why  do  you  ask  me 
where  the  brig  is  bound  to." 

"  It  vhas  about  time  dot  ve  knew  vhere  ve  vhas  boun'  to," 
said  Bol.  "  Dis  vhas  a  larsh  verld.  Dere  vhas  many  places 
in  him.  Some  of  dose  places  I  have  visited  and  vish  never 
to  see  again.  Derefore  I  likes  to  know  vhere  ve  vhas 
boun'  to." 

"  It  is  for  the  captain,  not  for  me,  to  tell  you  that,"  said  I. 

"  Vhen  shall  he  speak  ?  "  said  Bol. 

"  In  good  time,  I  warrant  you," 

"  I  vhas  villing  to  agree  dot  vhere  we  sailed  to  should  be  der 
captain's  secret  for  a  leedle  time  ;  but  now  ve  hov  been  siome- 
vhiles  at  sea,  und  still  she  vhas  a  secret,  und  I  belief  dot  der 
men  did  not  suppose  dot  she  vouldt  be  a  secret  so  long.  Dere 
vhas  no  cargo.  Nothing  vhas  consigned.  Derefore,  if  ve  vhas 
boun'  anywhere  it  vhas  to  a  port  to  call  for  orders.  Und 
after " 


gS  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  The  captain  will  not  keep  the  crew  in  ignorance  much 
longer,"  said  I. 

"  But  you  can  tell  us,  Mr.  Fielding,  vhere  ve  vhas  boun'  to  ? " 

"  I  know  where  we  are  bound  to." 

"  Dot  vhas  strange  !  You  come  on  board  as  a  shipwreckt 
man,  vhich  vhas  quite  right  ;  und  you  take  Heer  Van  Laar's 
place,  vhich  vhas  also  quite  right  ;  and  of  all  der  crew,  except- 
ing der  captain,  you  alone  know  vhere  der  brig  vhas  boun'  to  ! 
Mr.  Fielding,  oxcuse  me,  I  mean  no  offense,  but  I  say  again 
dot  vhas  dom'd  strange." 

There  was  jealousy  here  which  I  witnessed,  understood,  and, 
to  a  degree,  sympathized  with.  Here  was  I,  a  stranger  to  the 
brig — a  stranger,  I  mean,  in  the  sense  of  not  having  formed 
one  of  her  company  when  she  sailed  from  Amsterdam  ;  here 
was  I,  not  only  installed  in  the  room  of  Van  Laar,  and,  for  all 
I  knew,  regarded  by  the  crew  as  the  cause  of  that  man's  ex- 
pulsion from  the  ship,  but  in  possession  of  knowledge  withheld 
from  all  hands.  This  might  excite  a  feeling  against  me 
among  the  men,  which  would  be  unfortunate.  The  voyage 
had  opened  with  so  much  promise  that  I  had  resolved  to  spare 
no  effort  to  make  a  jolly  jaunt  of  it  to  the  uttermost  end  of  the 
traverse,  whether  that  end  was  to  be  called  the  Downs,  or 
Amsterdam.  Preserving  my  temper,  and  speaking  in  the  kind- 
liest voice  I  could  command,  I  said  to  the  big  figure  alongside 
of  me  : 

"  Yan  Bol,  I  do  not  wonder  you  are  surprised  that  I  should 
know  what  is  hidden  from  you.  You  are  an  officer  of  this 
ship  as  well  as  I." 

"  Nine,  nine  !  "  he  exclaimed  in  a  voice  as  deep  as  a  trom- 
bone. 

"But  why  am  I  intrusted,"  I  continued,  "  with  the  secret  of 
this  voyage  a  little  while  before  it  is  communicated  to  the  crew  ? 
I  will  tell  you.  Captain  Greaves  wanted  a  mate  in  the  room  of 
Van  Laar.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  I  would  accept  the 
offer  of  the  post  of  mate  unless  I  knew  where  I  was  bound  to. 
Therefore,  to  secure  my  services,  Captain  Greaves  explained 
the  nature  of  this  expedition.  With  the  others  of  you  it  was 
different.  You  agreed  to  sail  in  this  brig,  and  you  were  willing, 
when  you  agreed  to  sail,  to  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  brig's 
destination.  Had  I  been  at  Amsterdam  when  a  crew  was 
wanted  for  the  Black  Watch,  and  had  I  been  invited  to  join 
her  as  able  seaman,  boatswain,  chief  mate,  what  you  will,  I 
should  have  answered  :  '  Tell  me  first  where  you  are  bound  to, 


THE   "REBECCA."  99 

for  I  will  not  join  your  ship  until  1  know  where  she  is  going 
and  what  her  business  is  ? '" 

"  Veil,  dot  vhas  right,"  he  exclaimed,  half  smothering  a  huge 
yawn.  "  I  hov  noting  to  say  against  dot.  But  you  hov  der 
ear  of  your  captain.  You  vhas  his  countryman  :  you  vhas  old 
friendts,  1  hov  heard.  You  vill  make  us  men  tankful  to 
you  if  you  vill  ask  him  to  let  us  know  vhere  ve  vhas  boun'  as 
conveniently  soon  as  may  pe." 

"  I  will  speak  to  him  as  you  wish,"  said  I. 

He  bade  me  good-night  very  civilly,  and  his  great  shape 
rolled  forward  and  vanished  in  the  blackness  that  lay  upon  the 
fore  part  of  the  brig. 

I  paced  the  deck,  musing  over  this  conversation.  It  seemed 
to  me  to  justify  Greaves'  resolution  to  withhold  all  knowledge 
of  the  ship's  errand  from  the  men  until  their  characters  lay 
somewhat  plain  to  his  gaze  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  I  con- 
ceived that  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  irritate  them  by  keeping 
silence  too  long.  They  had  a  right  to  know  where  they  were 
going.  Then  the  provocation  of  silence  might  lead  to  mur- 
murs and  difiiculties,  and  what  would  l/iat  mt:\.r\. 

I  was  again  on  deck  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  One 
of  the  most  comfortless  conditions  of  the  sea-life  is  this  cease- 
less turning  in  and  turning  out.  It  is  called  watch  and  watch. 
The  ladies  will  want  to  know  what  watch  and  watch  means. 
Ladies,  watch  and  watch  means  this  :  Snob  is  chief  mate.  He 
takes  charge  of  the  ship  from  midnight  until  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Nob,  who  is  the  second  mate,  is  then  roused  up, 
comes  on  deck,  and  looks  after  the  ship  until  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  At  this  hour  Snob's  turn  has  come  round.  He 
arrives,  and  takes  over  the  ship  until  noon.  Another  four 
hours  brings  the  time  to  four  o'clock,  when  the  ordinary  watch 
is  split  in  halves,  and  each  half,  called  a  dog-watch,  lasts  two 
hours.  This  provides  change  and  change  about,  so  that  Snob, 
who  last  night  had  charge  from  twelve  to  four,  will  to-night  be 
in  bed  during  those  hours,  weather  permitting. 

When  I  stepped  on  deck  at  eight  o'clock  I  found  a  brilliant 
morning  all  about,  but  a  softer  sea,  a  lighter  wind  than  I  had 
left,  a  languider  courtesying  of  the  brig,  even  a  dull  flap  at  times 
forward  when  the  cloths  of  the  heavy  forecourse  hollowed  into 
the  stoop  of  the  bows  as  a  child's  cheek  dimples  when  it  sucks 
in  its  breath.  The  trade-wind  was  not  taking  off.  Not  at  all. 
The  heavens  were  gay  with  the  flight  of  the  trade-cloud,  as  gay 
as  ever  the  sky  could  be  made  by  a  dance  of  sea-fowl  on  the 


loo  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

wing  ;  and  while  that  vapor  flew,  one  knew  that  the  wind  was 
constant.  Only  we  had  happened  just  now  to  have  washed  with 
foam  rising  in  thunder  to  each  cathead  into  a  pause  or  interval 
of  the  inspiring  commercial  gale  of  the  North  Atlantic  ;  the 
strong,  glad  rush  of  air  which  had  hoarily  veiled  every  deep 
blue  hollow  with  white  brine,  torn  flashing  from  each  curling 
head,  had  sunk  for  a  little  into  a  tropic  fanning,  and  the  swell 
of  the  sea  was  small  and  each  surge  no  more  than  a  giant  rip- 
ple, with  scarce  weight  enough  in  its  run  to  ridge  into  foam. 

But,  bless  me,  had  a  week  of  stark  calm  descended  upon  our 
heads  we  should  still  have  done  uncommonly  well.  Our  average 
progress,  since  the  day  on  which  I  had  recovered  consciousness 
on  board  the  Black  Waich,  had  come  very  near  to  steam  as  steam 
is  in  these  days  in  which  I  am  writing,  though  to  what  veloci- 
ties the  boiler  may  hereafter  attain  I  am  not  here  to  predict. 

Greaves  stood  abreast  of  the  wheel.  He  was  looking  through 
a  telescope  at  some  object  that  lay  about  three  points  on  the 
weather  bow.  He  continued  to  gaze  with  a  degree  of  stead- 
fastness that  rendered  him  insensible  of  my  presence.  I  looked 
and  seemed  to  see  some  small  vesssel  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea  ; 
but  I  could  not  be  sure.  She  was  above  a  league  distant,  and 
the  morning  light  was  confusing  that  way  with  the  blending  of 
the  shadowy  lift  of  the  swell,  the  violet  shadows  of  the  clouds, 
and  the  hazy  splendor  of  the  early  morning  distances.  My 
caressing  and  speaking  to  Galloon,  who  lay  near  his  master, 
caused  Greaves  to  bring  his  eye  away  from  the  glass. 

"  Good-morning,  Fielding.  The  breeze  has  fallen  slack.  I 
am  trying  to  make  out  the  meaning  of  that  little  schooner 
down  there  ;  "  and  he  pointed  over  the  bow  with  his  telescope. 
"  Look  for  yourself." 

I  leveled  the  glass,  and  beheld  a  schooner  of  about  a 
hundred  tons,  rolling  broadside  to  the  sea,  abandoned,  or,  if 
not  abandoned,  then  helpless.  Her  jib  boom  was  gone  ;  so,  too, 
was  her  fore  topmast ;  otherwise  she  seemed  sound  enough, 
saving  that  for  canvas  she  had  nothing  set  but  her  gaff  foresail, 
though,  as  I  seemed  to  find,  when  I  strained  my  gaze  through 
the  glass,  her  mainsail  was  not  furled,  but  lay  heaped  upon  the 
boom,  as  though  the  halliards  had  been  let  go  and  nothing 
more  done. 

"  Slie'll  be  worse  off  than  the  craft  that  Van  Laar's  gone 
home  in,"  said  I,  returning  the  telescope  to  Greaves. 

"  Do  you  believe  in  dreams  ?  "  said  he. 

"No,"  I  answered. 


THE    "  /REBECCA."  lOI 

« 

"Do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry  with  your  'noes,'  "  he  ex- 
claimed. "  I  like  a  man  to  reflect  when  he  is  asked  a  question 
in  metaphysics." 

"I  know  nothing  about  metaphysics,"  said  I,  "  and  I  do  not 
believe  in  dreams." 

"  I  believe  in  the  unseen,"  said  he,  putting  down  the  glass, 
and  folding  his  arms  and  leaning  back  against  the  rail,  as 
though  settling  himself  down  for  a  talk  or  an  argument.  "  The 
materialist  tells  you  not  to  put  your  faith  in  anything  you  can't 
see,  or  handle,  or  smell,  that  you  can't  bring  some  organ  or 
function  of  sense  to  bear  upon,  in  short.  Throw  yourself  down 
upon  your  back,  and  look  straight  up  into  the  sky.  What  do 
you  see  ?  Hey  ?  But  do  you  see  it  ?  Yes.  Do  you  under- 
stand it  ?  No.  It  is  visible,  and  yet  it  is  the  unseen  ;  for  at 
what  does  a  man  look  when  he  gazes  straight  up  into  the  sky  ?" 

"There  are  few  things  worth  going  mad  for,"  said  I,  "and 
two  things  I  am  resolved  shall  never  send  me  to  Bedlam." 

"  What  are  they  ?  " 

"  One  of  them's  that,"  said  I,  pointing  straight  up. 

"  What  do  you  make  of  yonder  schooner,  "  said  he. 

I  described  such  features  as  I  had  observed. 

"  She  has  a  black  hull,  and  a  thin  line  of  painted  ports,"  said 
he. 

"  She  has." 

"  She  has  lost  her  fore  topmast  and  jib  boom." 

"  That's  so." 

"It  is  very  extraordinary  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  dreamt  last 
night,  or  in  one  of  this  morning  watches,  that  I  sighted  that 
schooner.  I  saw  her  in  my  dream  as  I  have  been  seeing  her 
in  that  glass  there.  She  was  wrecked  forward,  she  lay  in  the 
trough,  she  showed  no  canvas  but  her  gaff  foresail.  There  it 
all  is  !"  he  said,  pointing  ;  "and  yet  how  quick  you  are  with 
your  '  No  '  when  I  asked  if  you  believed  in  dreams  !  "  He 
smiled  and  continued,  "  But  my  dream  carried  me  further 
than  I  intend  to  go  in  these  waking  hours  ;  for,  in  my  dream, 
I  launched  a  boat,  where  from  I  can't  tell  ye,  and  went  aboard 
that  schooner.  I  looked  about  me,  her  decks  were  lifeless.  I 
stepped  below  into  her  little  cabin,  and  what  d'ye  think  I  saw? 
The  figure  of  Death  seated  in  an  armchair  at  the  table  with  a 
pack  of  cards  in  one  skeleton  hand.  He  pointed  to  a  chair 
and  began  to  deal.  I  awoke,  and  wasn't  sorry  to  wake.  There 
lies  the  schooner.  How  very  extraordinary  !  Is  old  Death 
below,  waiting  for  a  partner  ?     You  shall  find  out,  Fielding. 


I02  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

I'll  lay  you  aboard.  By  thunder,  rather  than  go  myself  I 
would  forfeit  all  the  money  I  hope  to  take  up  at  the  end  of 
this  run." 

Many  lies  are  told  of  us  sailors  by  landsmen,  but  when  they 
call  us  a  superstitious  clan  they  speak  the  truth.  Superstitious, 
indeed,  are  sailors.  I  am  talking  of  the  Jacks  of  my  time  ;  I 
understand  that  the  mariner  is  more  enlightened  in  these  days. 
I  looked  at  the  little  schooner  anxiously.  I  felt  no  reluctance 
to  board  her  ;  but,  though  I  had  told  Greaves  that  I  did  not 
believe  in  dreams,  I  discovered,  nevertheless,  that  this  dream 
had  communicated  a  particular  significance  to  the  little  craft. 
I  had  meant  to  talk  to  him  about  my  chat  with  Yan  Bol  at  mid- 
night, and  the  subject  went  out  of  my  head  while  I  looked  at 
the  schooner  and  thought  of  Greaves'  dream. 

"  I  will  board  her,"  said  I,  "and  enter  her  cabin." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  want  you  to  do  that.  My  dream 
was  so  vivid  that  I  shall  ask  you  to  take  notice  of  the  fittings 
of  that  cabin  for  the  sake  of  corroboration,  and  let  me  be  first 
with  you " 

He  shut  his  eyes  as  one  seeking  strongly  to  realize  his  own 
imaginations,  and  said  :  "  It  is  a  square  cabin  with  a  square 
table  directly  under  an  oblong  skylight.  There  is  a  chair  at 
the  head  of  the  table.  In  that  chair  sat  the  skeleton,  not 
answering  to  Milton's  magnificent  fancy  : 

"  What  seemed  his  head 
The  likeness  of  a  kingly  crown  had  on. 

No,  the  thing  was  uncrowned.  It  was  a  skeleton,  but  it 
lived,  and  made  as  though  it  would  deal  the  cards  it  held. 
Opposite  is  another  chair  ;  on  either  hand  are  lockers.  There 
are  sleeping  berths  at  the  foot  of  the  companion  ladder,  and 
that's  all  that  I  can  remember,"  said  he,  opening  his  eyes. 

Jimmy  announced  breakfast.  Yan  Bol  came  aft  to  take 
charge  while  I  went  below.  The  burly  Dutchman  looked  at 
me  meaningly,  and  then  I  recollected  my  talk  with  him  ;  but 
I  resolved  to  say  nothing  to  the  captain  this  side  my  excursion 
to  the  schooner. 

Before  we  sat  down  Jimmy  received  one  of  his  lessons. 
There  was  a  ham  upon  the  table,  and  he  called  it  a  leg  of  mut- 
ton. I  had  long  ago  discovered  that  the  boy  was  honestly 
wanting  in  the  power  to  distinguish  between  articles  of  food. 
Sometimes  I  supposed  he  blundered  on  purpose  to  divert  his 
master,  who  appeared  to  enjoy  the  concert  that  was  part  of  the 


THE    "  REBECCA  r  103 

lesson,  but  I  was  now  convinced  that  though  he  had  the  names 
of  many  varieties  of  meats,  and  even  dishes,  at  his  tongue's 
end,  he  was  utterly  unable  to  correctly  apply  them.  His  con- 
fidence in  his  own  indications  was  the  extraordinary  part  of 
his  misapplications.  He  spoke,  for  instance,  of  the  ham  as  a 
leg  of  mutton  as  though  quite  sure  ;  then  to  the  first  syllable  of 
correction  that  fell  from  Greaves,  and  to  a  faint,  uneasy  groan 
which  the  dog  always  gave  when  Greaves  spoke  on  these  occa- 
sions— as  though  the  noble  beast  knew  that  the  boy  had  blun- 
dered and  that  the  duet  was  inevitable — Jimmy  stiffened  him- 
self into  a  soldier-like  posture,  nose  in  the  air,  hands  up  and 
down  like  a  pump  handle,  and  the  dog  looking  at  him  ready  to 
howl.     The  lesson  ended,  we  sat  down  and  fell  to. 

"  Your  teaching  does  not  seem  to  make  the  lad  see  the 
difference  between  meats,"  said  I. 

"  I  have  hopes  of  him,"  he  answered,  "  and  Galloon's  face  is 
good  on  these  occasions." 

He  then  talked  of  the  schooner,  of  his  dream,  and  his  dis- 
course ran  in  such  a  strain  that  I  discovered  that  secretly  he 
was  not  only  of  a  serious  and  religious  cast  of  mind,  but  super- 
stitious beyond  any  man  I  had  ever  sailed  with.  Thouglit  has 
the  speed  of  the  lightning  stroke,  and  I  remember  as  I  sat  list- 
ening to  him,  saying  very  little  myself — for  I  had  but  the  shal- 
lowest understanding  of  the  subject  he  had  got  upon  ;  I  say  that 
I  remember  thinking :  Suppose  this  voyage  should  be  the 
consequence  of  a  dream  ?  Suppose  this  Pacific  quest  for  hard 
Spanish  milled  dollars  should  be  an  effect  of  superstitious  fancy? 
Suppose  the  whole  scheme  should  be  as  unsubstantial  in  fact 
as  the  actors  in  the  revels  in  the  '  Tempest '  ?  But  the  image  of 
Mynheer  Tulp  swept  as  an  inspiration  of  support  into  my  mind. 
I  had  entertained  myself  by  figuring  that  man.  In  thinking 
over  this  voyage  I  had  depicted  its  promoter,  and  my  fancy 
gave  me  the  likeness  of  a  little  withered  Dutchman  in  a  velvet 
cap,  with  a  nose  of  Hebraic  proportions,  a  keen  black  eye,  a 
wary,  sarcastic  smile,  and  a  mind  whose  horizon  was  the 
circumference  of  a  guilder.  I  seemed  to  see  the  little  creature 
looking  over  Greaves'  shoulder  at  me  as  I  mused  upon  my 
companion's  somewhat  foggy  talk,  and  I  said  unto  myself, 
"Tulp  believing,  all's  well." 

When  we  went  on  deck  the  schooner  was  within  musket  shot. 
She  had  seemingly  been  in  collision  witli  another  vessel,  though 
her  hull  looked  perfectly  sound  ;  nor  did  she  sit  upon  the  sea, 
nor  rise  with  the  slope  of  the  swell,  as  if  she  had  more  water  in 


I04  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

her  than  was  good  for  buoyancy.  Nothing  alive  was  visible 
aboard. 

I  know  not  a  more  forlorn  object,  the  wide  world  over,  than 
an  abandoned  vessel  encountered  deep  in  the  heart  of  an  ocean 
solitude.  She  sucks  in  the  desolation  of  the  sea  and  grows 
gray,  lean,  and  haggard  with  the  melancholy  that  sometimes 
raves  and  sometimes  sleeps,  but  that  forever  dwells  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  deep.  There  is  no  fancy  in  this.  Many  ways 
are  there  in  which  loneliness  may  be  personified  or  illustrated  : 
the  widow  weeping  upon  the  tomb  of  her  only  child,  a  blind 
man  in  a  crowd,  a  prostrate  ligure  on  some  wide  spread  of  mid- 
night moor,  over  whose  vague  and  distant  edge  a  red  eye  of 
moon  is  glancing  under  a  lid  of  black  cloud.  In  many  ways 
may  loneliness  be  represented,  but  there  is  no  expression  of  it 
that  equals,  to  my  mind,  the  abandoned  ship.  Is  it  because 
the  movement  of  the  sea  communicates  a  fancy  of  life  to  the 
vessel  ?  She  looks  to  be  sentient  as  she  sways,  to  be  sensible 
that  she  is  the  only  object  for  leagues  upon  the  prodigious 
liquid  waste  over  which  the  boundless  heavens  are  spread. 
Some  unfurled  canvas  flaps  ;  the  wheel  revolves,  or  the  tiller 
shears  through  the  air  to  the  blows  of  the  seas  upon  the  rudder  : 
there  may  be  the  ends  of  gear  snaking  overboard  ;  they  move, 
they  writhe  like  serpents  ;  they  seem  to  poicr  as  though  they 
were  the  life  blood  of  the  vessel  draining  from  her  heart.  And 
terrible  is  the  silence  of  the  decks.  It  is  not  the  silence  of  the 
empty  house  that  was  yesterday  full  and  clamorous  with 
merry  voices.  It  is  such  a  silence  as  you  meet  with  nowhere 
else,  deepened  to  the  meditative  mind  by  sounds  which  would 
vex  and  break  in  upon  and  destroy  all  otlier  silence.  Yes,  to 
my  mind  the  abandoned  ship  at  sea  is  the  most  perfect  expres- 
sion of  human  and  inanimate  loneliness. 

This  I  thought  as  I  gazed  at  that  little  schooner.  Greaves 
watched  her  with  a  look  of  uneasiness.  He  came  to  my  side 
and  said,  in  a  low  voice  : 

"Take  a  boat,  will  ye.  Fielding,  and  explore  that  craft? 
She's  been  abandoned  for  weeks  ;  I  am  sure  of  that.  You'll 
find  nothing  alive,  and  if  it  wasn't  for  that  dream  of  mine  last 
night  I'd  pass  on.  But  I  must  find  out  whether  the  cabin  furni- 
ture is  as  I  beheld  it  in  my  sleep." 

A  boat  was  lowered  ;  three  men  jumped  in.  I  followed,  and 
gained  the  side  of  the  schooner.  We  pulled  under  her  stern  to 
see  her  name,  and  read  in  big  white  letters  on  the  slope  of  her 
counter  the  word  Rebecca.     I  fastened  a  superstitious  eye  upon 


THE    "REBECCA."  T05 

the  two  little   starboard   portholes,  which,  as  I  might   guess, 
illuminated  her  cabin.     What  was  inside  ? 

"  Two  of  you,"  said  I  to  the  men,  "  come  aboard  with  me. 
You,  Travers,  remain  in  charge  of  the  boat." 

The  men  who  scrambled  over  the  side  were  Friend  and 
Meehan.  We  stood  gazing  and  listening.  The  foresail  occa- 
sionally flapped  as  the  little  vessel  heaved  to  the  swell,  but  the 
v.-ater  washed  along  the  bends  noiseless  as  quicksilver.  Saving 
the  wreckage  forward,  I  could  see  nothing  wrong  with  the 
schooner.  There  were  signs  of  confusion,  as  though  she  had 
been  abandoned  in  a  hurry  :  the  sails  had  come  down  with  a 
run,  and  lay  unfurled  ;  the  decks  were  littered  with  ropes'  ends. 
But  all  deck  fixtures  were  in  their  place  ;  nay,  there  was  even 
a  small  boat  chocked  under  the  starboard  gangway  forward, 
but  the  bigger  boat,  which  such  a  craft  as  this  would  carry, 
was  missing. 

My  eye  went  to  the  skylight,  and  I  started.  It  was  oblong. 
"What  mor^of  the  dream  remains  to. be  verified  ?"  thought  I. 
The  skylight  was  closed,  the  frames  secured  within,  the  glass 
filthy.  I  peered  and  peered  to  no  purpose.  On  this  I  stepped 
to  the  companion,  while  the  two  seamen  moved  forward  to 
look  down  the  hatches  in  obedience  to  my  orders  ;  but  I 
paused  when  I  was  in  the  companion  way.  I  seemed  to  smell 
a  damp  odor  as  of  a  vault.  "  Good  God  !  "  thought  I,  "  if 
there  should  be  anything  horrible   at  the   head   of  the  table, 

with  a  pack  of Chut !  ye  fool  !  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  say  a 

prayer  and  shove  on,  and  be  hanged  to  you  !  "  and   down  I 
went. 

Well,  there  was  no  skeleton  ;  there  was  nothing  horrible  to 
be  seen.  If  the  grim  Feature  had  ever  occupied  the  head  of 
that  table,  he  had  found  a  companion  ;  he  had  played  his 
trump  card  :  he  had  won  of  a  surety,  and  he  and  his  opponent 
were  gone.  But  had  I  veritably  beheld  a  living  skeleton  seated 
at  the  table  and  motioning  as  though  it  would  deal,  I  could 
not  have  been  more  scared — no  ;  let  me  say  I  could  not  have 
been  more  impressed  than  I  was — by  the  sight  of  the  furniture 
of  the  cabin.  It  was  precisely  as  Greaves  had  described  it. 
It  was  the  plainest  sea  interior  in  the  world — nothing  whatever 
worth  looking  at,  nothing  in  it  to  detain  the  attention  for  an 
instant  ;  yet  it  was  all  exactly  as  Greaves  described  it.  I  was 
revisited  by  the  misgiving  of  an  earlier  hour.  "  The  man  is  an 
extraordinary  dreamer,"  I  said  to  myself.  "  He  may  be  a 
little  mad.     A  few  people  dream  as  this  man  has  dreamt,  and 


io6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

those  few,  I  suspect,  will  be  found  someVhat  mad  at  root. 
Has  he  dreamt  of  the  ship  in  the  island  cave  ?  Did  he,  that  he 
might  justif)''  to  himself  his  faith  in  his  extraordinary  vision  by 
sailing  on  this  quest — did  ho.  forge  that  manifest  which,  backed 
by  his  eloquent  advocacy,  no  doubt,  induced  old  Bartholomew 
Tulp  to  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket?" 

I  stood  thus  thinking  when  I  heard  my  name  called. 

"Hallo!"  I  exclaimed. 

"  There's  somebody  alive  forrad  !  "  cried  one  of  the  men. 

I  ran  on  deck. 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  This  way,  sir,"  shouted  Meehan. 

I  followed  the  fellow  to  the  forecastle — that  is  to  say,  to  the 
hatch  by  which  the  forecastle  was  entered  and  quitted. 

"There's  somebody  knocking,"  cried  Friend. 

"  Thump  back  and  sing  out,"  I  cried. 

The  man  did  so,  and  we  heard  a  faint  voice,  feeble  as  a 
sweep's  call-down  from  the  height  of  a  tall  chimney. 

"  Don't  you  see  what  has  happened  ?  "  cried  I.  "  Why,  look  ! 
This  vessel  has  been  in  collision — struck  some  vessel  on  end. 
Her  bowsprit  has  been  run  in  by  the  blow,  and  the  heel  of  it 
has  closed  the  slide  of  the  hatch  over  the  people  who  are  below  here  !  " 

1  thumped  and  sang  out.  A  voice  dimly  responded.  I 
thumped  again,  and  roared  at  the  top  of  my  lungs  : 

"  We'll  have  you  out  of  this,  but  you  must  wait  a  bit.  Do 
you  hear  me  ?"  and  there  was  a  note  in  the  faint,  inarticulate 
response  that  made  me  know  I  was  heard. 

I  looked  about,  but  my  eye  sought  in  vain  for  such  machinery 
of  tackles  as  I  required  to  free  tTie  men  below.  I  did  not 
choose  to  waste  time  by  hunting,  and  told  Meehan  to  jump  in- 
to the  boat  and  pull,  with  Travers,  over  to  the  brig.  By  this 
time  the  two  vessels  had  so  closed  to  each  other  as  to  be  within 
easy  speaking  distance.  I  hailed  \.\\t  Black  Watch,  and  Greaves 
stood  up  and  made  answer. 

"  There  are  two  men  locked  up  in  this  schooner's  fok'sle, 
and  the  heel  of  the  bowsprit "  and  I  explained  how  it  hap- 
pened that  the  hatch  was  closed  and  immovably  secured.  He 
flourished  his  arm.  I  then  requested  him  to  send  me  the  nec- 
essary gear  for  clearing  the  hatch  by  running  out  the  bowsprit  ; 
I  likewise  asked  him  for  a  couple  more  men.  Again  he  flourished 
his  arm.     By  this  time  the  boat  was  alongside  the  brig. 

"  What  have  you  found  aft  in  the  cabin  ?  "  shouted  Greaves. 

"  Nothing  but  ordinary  furniture,"  I  answered. 


THE   ''REBECCAr  lo? 

"  I  see,"  he  cried,  "  that  the  skylight  is  oblong.     Is  the  table 
square?  " 
"  It  is,  sir." 

"  A  chair  at  the  head  and  foot  ?  " 
"Ay,  sir,  and  lockers  on  either  hand." 

His  figure  hardened  into  a  posture  of  astonishment.  He 
stood  mute.  I  could  readily  imagine  an  expression  of  super- 
stitious dismay  on  his  face  ;  or  rather,  let  me  say,  that  I  hoped 
this,  for  methought  it  would  be  ominous  for  our  faith  in  those 
distant  South  Pacific  dollars  if  he  should  accept  the  startling 
realization  of  this  dream  with  the  tranquillity  of  a  man  who 
dreams  much,  and  who  believes  in  his  dreams,  and  whose 
actions  are  governed  by  them. 

The  boat  returned  with  the  additional  assistance  I  required, 
and  with  the  necessary  gear  for  freeing  the  forecastle  hatch. 
The  business  was  somewhat  tedious.  It  was  a  case  of  what 
sailors  know  as  jam.  It  involved  luff  upon  luff,  much  sweating 
and  swearing,  much  hard  straining  and  hoarse  chorusing  at  the 
little  forecastle  capstan.  At  last  we  started  the  bowsprit,  the 
heel  ran  clear  of  the  hatch,  and  two  of  the  men,  grasping  the 
hatch  cover,  swept  it  through  its  grooves. 

The  moment  the  hatch  was  open  a  figure  rose  up  out  of  the 
darkness  below  ;  another  followed  at  his  heels.  I  looked  for 
more,  but  there  were  but  two,  and  those  two  stood  blinking  and 
rubbing  their  eyes,  and  turning  their  heads  about  as  though 
their  motions  were  produced  by  clockwork.  One  of  them  was 
the  strangest  looking  man  I  had  ever  seen.  Did  you  ever  read 
the  story  of  Peter  Serrano  ?  If  so,  then  figure  Serrano  with  his 
beard  cropped,  his  hairy  body  clothed  in  a  sleeved  waistcoat 
and  a  pair  of  short  pilot  breeches,  the  hair  of  his  head  still 
long,  and  rings  in  his  ears,  the  whole  man  still  preserving  a 
good  deal  of  that  oyster-like  expression  of  face  and  sandy  gritti- 
ness  of  complexion  which  Peter  got  from  a  long  residence  upon 
a  shoal. 

This  man  might  have  been  Peter  Serrano  after  he  had  been 
trimmed,  washed,  and  cared  for  ashore.  His  eyes  were  small 
and  fiery,  the  edges  of  the  lids  a  raw  red.  He  was  about  five 
feet  tall,  with  tlie  smallest  feet  that  ever  capered  at  the 
extremities  of  a  sailor's  trousers.  His  companion  was  of  the 
ordinary  type  of  merchant  seamen,  red-haired,  of  a  heavy  cast 
of  countenance  ;  the  complexion  of  this  man  was  of  the  hue  of 
sailors'  duff — which  you  must  go  to  sea  to  understand,  for 
there  is  no  word  in  the  English  language  to  express  the  color 


io8  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

of  it.  They  had  risen  through  the  hatch  with  activity  ;  as  they 
stood  they  seemed  fairly  strong  on  their  pins.  But  the  light 
confounded  them,  and  they  continued  to  rub  and  to  weep  and 
to  mechanically  rotate  their  heads  for  some  few  minutes  after 
I  had  begun  to  talk  to  them, 

"  Well,  my  lads,"  said  I,  "  this  is  a  stroke  of  fortune  for  you. 
Talk  of  rats  in  a  hole  !  How  came  ye  into  this  mess  ?  But, 
first,  are  ye  English  ?  " 

"  English  both,"  said  the  little  man. 

"  How  come  ye  to  be  locked  up  after  this  fashion  ?  " 

The  little  chap  looked  round  at  us  with  streaming  eyes  and 
said,  in  just  the  sort  of  harsh,  salt,  gritty  voice  that  my  im- 
agination had  fitted  him  with  before  he  opened  his  lips — a 
voice  that  was  extraordinary  with  its  suggestion  of  sand,  the 
seething  of  surf,  and  the  spasmodic  shriek  of  the  gull  :  "  Tell 
us  the  time,  will  yer  ?  " 

I  looked  at  my  watch  and  gave  him  the  hour.  He  lugged 
out  a  great  silver  turnip  from  his  breeches'  band  ;  the  dial  plate 
of  that  watch  was  about  the  size  of  a  shilling,  and  the  back  of 
it  came  nearly  to  the  circumference  of  a  saucer. 

"  What  does  he  say  ?"  he  exclaimed,  holding  up  the  watch. 
"This  here  blaze  is  like  striking  of  a  man  blind." 

"  The  time  by  your  watch,"  said  I,  looking  at  it,  "  is  seven 
o'clock." 

"Is  he  right?"  asked  the  little  man  eagerly. 

"Not  by  nearly  four  hours,"  said  I. 

"  If  he  aint  furder  out  it's  all  one,"  exclaimed  the  other  sailor. 

"Me  and  my  mate,"  said  the  little  man,  "has  had  a  good 
many  arguments  about  the  time  while  we've  been  locked  up 
below,  but  I  think  my  tally'U  come  out  right." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  locked  up  below  according  to 
your  tally  ?"  said  I. 

"This  here's  a  Wednesday,  aint  it?"  he  inquired,  once  again 
straining  the  moisture  out  of  his  eyes  with  liis  knuckles,  and 
blinking  at  me. 

"No,"  said  I;  "it's  Thursday." 

"  Nearer  than  you,  Bobby,  anyway  ! "  he  cried.  "Your  tally 
brought  it  to  Saturday." 

"  How  long  have  you  been  locked  up,  men  ?  " 

"Why,"  he  exclaimed,"  if  this  here's  a  Thursday" — his  voice 
broke  like  that  of  a  youth  entering  manhood,  as  he  continued 
— "we've  been  locked  up  a  fortnight  when  it  shall  ha' gone 
nine  o'clock." 


THE   ''REBECCA."  109 

A  murmur  of  pity  and  amazement  escaped  my  men. 

"  And  it  happened  like  this,"  continued  the  little  fellow, 
beginning  to  walk  swiftly  in  a  small  circle  :  "  Me  and  Bobby 
was  in  the  same  watch.  We  had  come  below  and  turned  in, 
We  was  waked  by  a  crash,  and  I  heerd  the  hatch  cover  closed. 
There  went  eight  of  us  to  a  crew,  but  when  I  sings  out  only 
Bobby  answers.  The  others  who  was  below  may  have  heard 
the  capt'n  or  mate  singing  out  on  deck  afore  the  collision. 
They  was  gone.  Bobby  and  me  tries  to  open  the  hatch.  No 
fear  !  Eh,  Bobby  ? "  exclaimed  the  little  fellow,  who  continued 
to  walk  very  rapidly  in  a  circle.  "And  how  did  it  happen 
that  that  there  hatch  was  closed  ?  Why,  I  don't  know  noiv. 
How  did  it  happen  ?  "  he  yelled. 

I  explained.  The  little  fellow  looked  at  the  bowsprit  heel, 
at  the  hatch,  and  then  his  mate,  and  exclaimed  : 

"Wrong  again,  Bobby!  Bobby  was  for  having  it  that  the 
hatch  had  been  closed  'spressly  to  drown  us  by  one  of  the 
sailors  as  him  and  me  hated,  as  him  and  me  had  fought  with 
and  licked  times  out  o' counting." 

I  was  about  to  ask  the  fellows  how  they  had  managed  to 
breathe  in  their  black  hole  of  a  forecastle  during  their  fortnight's 
imprisonment,  when  I  caught  sight  of  a  stove  funnel  piercing 
the  forecastle  deck  and  rising  a  few  feet  above  it.  That  fun- 
nel was  all  the  answer  my  question  needed.  I  inquired  how 
they  managed  to  obtain  food  and  the  little  sore-eyed  man 
answered  that  they  had  lifted  the  hatch  of  the  forepeak  and 
found  oil  for  their  lamps  and  water  to  drink,  some  barrels  of 
bread  and  flour,  and  a  piece  or  two  of  beef  ;  for,  luckily  for 
them,  the  provisions  in  this  schooner  were  stowed  forward. 
There  was  coal  in  the  forepeak.  They  lighted  the  forecastle 
stove  and  so  dressed  their  victuals  ;  but  they  were  always  forced 
to  be  in  a  hurry  with  their  cooking,  for  the  fire  carried  the 
fresh  air  up  with  it  ;  and  when  they  had  raked  the  coals  out 
they  would  sit  with  their  heads  close  in  to  the  stove  to  breathe 
the  air  as  it  gushed  in  again  through  the  flue. 

"  Did  you  never  try  to  break  out  ? "  said  one  of  my 
men. 

"  Time  arter  time,  mate.  There  was  sights  o'  trying,  and 
you  see  what  it's  comes  to,"  exclaimed  the  little  fiery-eyed  man, 
starting  to  walk  in  a  circle  again. 

At  this  moment  I  was  hailed  by  Greaves: 

"  How  many  men  have  you   released  ?  " 

"  Two,  sir  ;  there  are  no  more." 


no  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"Then  bring  them  aboard,  Mr.  Fielding.  I  wish  to  pro- 
ceed." 

"Get  your  clothes,"  said  I  to  the  little  man,  "and  come 
along." 

He  stopped  in  his  circling  walk  and  looked  at  the  fellow  he 
called  Bobby  ;  then,  as  if  influenced  by  the  same  thought,  they 
both  cast  their  eyes  over  the  schooner,  first  staring  up  at  the 
broken  topmast,  then  at  the  bowsprit,  then  running  their  gaze 
over  the  decks. 

"Have  you  sounded  the  well?"  cried  the  little  man  to 
me. 

"  No,  I  have  not,"  I  answered. 

He  flew  to  the  pumps  ;  his  feet  twinkled  as  he  fled.  I  never 
witnessed  such  activity  ;  it  seemed  impossible  in  a  man  who 
had  been  suffering  from  a  fortnight  of  black  hole.  He  pounced 
upon  the  sounding-rod,  dropped  the  bar  down  the  well, 
whipped  it  up,  looked  at  it,  uttered  a  gull-like  cry,  flung  the 
iron  down,  and  was  with  us  in  a  jiffey. 

"Bobby,"  he  exclaimed,  "  nut  dust  aint  in  it  with  her." 

"  Don't  I  know  her  for  a  corker  ?  "  responded  Bobby.  "  Froth 
and  pop  when  it  blows,  and  a  dead  marine  at  heart." 

"Bobby,  what  d'ye  think?"  said  the -raw-eyed  little  man, 
questioning  his  mate  as  though  the  suggestion  had  been  made. 

The  man  looked  round  the  sea,  looked  up  aloft,  and 
answered  : 

"Agreeable." 

"  We'll  carry  the  schooner  home,  sir,"  said  the  little  fellow, 
addressing  me. 

"You  two?" 

"  Say  us  four,  sir.  There's  a  two-man  power  for  each  hand 
a-coming  out  of  such  a  salvage  job  as  this." 

I  observed  some  of  my  men  gaze  about  them  thirstily  and 
enviously  and  a  little  gloomily. 

"Are  you  resolved?"  said  I,  looking  at  the  fellow,  doubting 
my  right  to  suffer  them  to  embark  on  such  an  adventure  after 
their  long,  weakening  spell  of  imprisonment. 

"It's  two  blocks,  aint  it,  Bobby?"  said  the  little  man. 

"Ay,"  answered  Bobby,  "nothing  wanting  but  this:  First, 
that  this  kind  gentleman  will  help  us  to  secure  the  bowsprit 
afore  he  takes  away  his  men  ;  and,  next,  that  he  gives  the 
course  to  steer  for  the  Henglish  Channel." 

I  was  again  hailed  impatiently  by  Greaves,  on  which  I  got 
upon  the  rail  and  told  him  that  the  two  men  wished  to  carry 


THE   ROUND  ROBIN.  Ill 

their  schooner  home.  Should  I  permit  them  to  do  it,  con- 
sidering  

"Certainly,"  he  shouted  ;  "they'll  pick  up  help  as  they  go 
along." 

I  then  called  out  that  I  would  stay  a  little  while  longer,  that 
I  might  secure  the  bowsprit  and  set  them  a  course  ;•  and  I  then 
bade  the  little  man  with  the  fiery  eyes  go  below  and  rummage 
the  cabin  that  had  been  occupied  by  his  captain  for  such 
charts  as  might  be  there.  He  was  off  like  a  hare,  and  returned 
in  a  few  minutes  with  a  small  bag  of  charts,  one  of  which 
represented  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  and,  while  my  people 
were  busy  with  the  bowsprit,  I,  with  a  pencil,  marked  upon  the 
chart  the  track  and  courses  for  the  red-eyed  man  and  his  mate 
to  pursue.  We  then  made  sail  on  the  schooner,  shook  hands 
with  the  two  fellows,  and  entered  the  boat. 

As  I  was  about  to  drop  over  the  side  I  overheard  one  of  my 
men,  in  a  grumbling  voice,  say  : 

"  Is  this  here  traverse  of  ourn  going  to  consist  of  rummag- 
ing jobs,  I  wonder.  Nothen  but  boarding  so  far,  and  what 
for  ? " 

"  Vere  vhas  ve  boun'  ? "  said  another.  "  By  Cott !  boot  I 
like  to  know  by  dis  time  vere  ve  vhas  goin'." 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

THE  ROUND  ROBIN. 

There  was  business  to  be  done  in  getting  the  boat  aboard 
and  in  starting  the  brig  afresh  upon  her  course.  Nevertheless, 
I  found  moments  for  a  look  at  the  retreating  schooner,  and, 
while  she  still  lay  plain  to  the  naked  sight,  I  saw  the  little  man 
with  the  fire-ringed  eyes  seize  the  tiller,  while  the  other  fellow 
who  had  been  called  Bobby  clumsily  sprawled  aloft,  and  fell  to 
hacking  at  the  rigging  of  the  wrecked  fore  topmast,  which  pres- 
ently went  overboard  with  its  two  yards. 

By  this  time  eight  bells  had  been  made  by  Greaves.  It  was 
Yan  Bol's  watch.  I  went  below  to  wash  and  sliift  myself  ; 
dinner  was  then  ready.  Galloon  took  his  seat,  and  Greaves  oc- 
cupied the  head  of  the  table  with  Jimmy  behind  him  to  wait 
upon  us. 

"  I  wish  my  dream  had  not  proved  so  accurate,"  said  Greaves. 

"  It  was  extraordinarily  accurate,"  said  I.  "  Nothing  was 
missing  in  that  little  cabin  but  the  figure  of  Death." 


112  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  I  shall  grow  superstitious,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  little  things 
will  trouble  me." 

"  It  was  a  providential  dream,  captain,"  said  I.  "  It  has 
saved  the  lives  of  two  men." 

"  Well,  perhaps  it  has,"  he  answered  a  little  complacently. 
"  Certainly,  but  for  my  dream,  I  should  not  have  sent  you  aboard 
the  schooner." 

"  I  know  but  of  one  instance  like  it — at  sea,"  said  I.  "The 
nephew  of  a  French  skipper  dreamt  tliree  times  in  succession 
that  some  castaway  wretches  were  lodged  upon  a  lonely  rock — 
where,  I  forget.  The  captain  yielded  to  the  influence  of  the 
third  time  of  dreaming,  and  shifted  his  helm,  made  the  rock, 
saw  the  men,  and  brought  them  off  in  a  dying  state." 

We  continued  to  talk  of  the  schooner,  of  the  chances  for  and 
against  the  two  men  navigating  her  home  unless  they  picked  up 
help  on  the  road,  of  dreams,  and  such  matters.  Jimmy  with- 
drew. It  was  my  watch  below,  and  I  was  in  no  hurry  to  leave 
the  table. 

"  This  seems  a  voyage  of  overhauling,"  said  I.  "  First  we 
board  the  melancholy  Tarbrick,  wlio  doesn't  know  the  day  of 
the  month  ;  then  we  board  the  little  Rebecca,  whose  two  fore- 
castle rats  of  sailors  don't  know  what  o'clock  it  is.  What  further 
in  the  boarding  line  lies  between  this  time  and  our  business 
t'other  side  the  Horn  ?  " 

"  We  want  nothing  further  in  the  boarding  line,"  Greaves 
answered  ;  "our  port  is  south  of  the  Galapagos,  and  we  are  in 
the  North  Atlantic  and  in  a  hurry." 

"  Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  to  imagine  what  became  of  the 
people  of  that  locked-up  ship  of  yours  ?  " 

"  No  ;  why  should  I  trouble  myself  to  imagine  ?  She  has 
been  in  that  cave  since  iSio." 

"  You  may  be  sure,"  said  I,  "  that  if  any  of  her  people  came 
off  with  their  lives  they'd  report  her  situation.  The  ship  then 
would  long  ago  have  been  visited,  and  the  cargo  and  the  half- 
million  dollars  taken  out  of  her." 

"  Long  ago." 

"  Strange  that  you,  who  have  been  dreaming  of  galleons  all 
your  life,  as  I  remember  you  told  me,  should  have  lighted  upon 
what  is  much  the  same  as  a  galleon — not,  indeed,  worth  Can- 
disli's  or  Anson's  treasure  ships,  but  all  the  same  a  very  pretty 
little  haul." 

"It  is  quite  true,"  said  he,  smiling  gravely,  "that  I  have 
been  dreaming  all  my  life  of  galleons.     I  read  about  the  Span- 


THE  ROUND  ROB  IN.  I13 

ish  plate  and  treasure  ships  when  I  was  a  boy  ;  about  the  car- 
goes of  gold  and  silver,  of  precious  gems,  of  massive  and 
splendid  commodities  which  the  Pacific  breezes  used  to  sol- 
emnly blow  over  the  seas,  betwixt  Acapulco  and  the  Philip- 
pines. I  used  to  read  of  the  buccaneers  and  their  marvelous 
doings  on  the  western  American  seaboard,  north  and  south  of 
Panama,  wherever  there  was  a  town  to  sack,  a  village  to  plunder. 
It  was  a  sort  of  reading  to  fire  my  spirits.  It  sent  me  to  sea. 
Yes,  truly  I  believe  I  went  to  sea  through  reading  about  the 
old  rovers.  It  is  strange,  as  you  say,  that  I  should  have  lighted 
upon  something  locked  up  in  a  cave — something  that  comes  as 
near  to  my  notion  of  a  galleon  now  as  it  would  have  been 
remote  to  me  when  I  was  a  boy,  had  I  heard  of  her  with  her 
half  a  million  of  silver  dollars  only ;  for  then  nothing  could 
have  satisfied  me  under  a  couple  of  millions  in  gold  !  " 

He  eyed  me  somewhat  dreamily  as  he  spoke.  We  were 
smoking ;  I  chipped  at  my  tinder-box  for  a  light. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  crew  ?  "  said  he  suddenly. 

"  I  can  find  no  fault." 

"  D'ye  think  they  are  trustworthy?  " 

"  Are  they  to  be  trusted  on  board  a  ship  with  half-a-million 
of  dollars  in  her  hold  ?  " 

He  nodded. 

"  I  don't  see  why  they  are  not  to  be  trusted,"  said  I.  "You 
must  trust  a  crew  of  some  sort ;  you  can't  work  this  brig 
without  men.  Should  you  doubt  these  fellows,  what's  to  be 
done  ?  " 

"  Done  !  "  cried  he,  with  his  eyes  sparkling  ;  "  you  don't 
suppose  that  I  would  carry  them  to  a  shipload  of  silver  if  I 
didnt  trust  them  ?  I'd  visit  port  after  port,  ay,  if  it  had  to  come 
to  my  going  away  for  New  Holland,  until  I  had  collected  such 
a  crew  as  I  felt  I  could  trust." 

"  It  might  take  years." 

"  So  it  might.  But  how  many  years  would  it  take  in  this 
beggarly  calling  of  the  sea,  to  amass  such  a  fortune  as  lies  wait- 
ing in  a  hole  in  an  island  to  be  divided  betwixt  Tulp  and  me 
and  you  and  the  men  ?  " 

"  No  years  of  the  sea  calling  could  compass  it." 

After  a  pause,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Yet  I  am  struck  by  one  remark  you  have  made.  This  brig 
cannot  be  navigated  without  men.  It  must,  therefore,  come  to 
my  trusting  the  crew,  and  perhaps  I  might  find  no  honester  fel- 
lows than  those  on  board." 


114  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

"  They  are  beginning  to  want  to  know,  pretty  earnestly  too, 
I  guess,  where  they  are  bound  to." 

"  That  I   suppose,"  he  answered  ;  "  but   how  do  you   know 
what's  in  their  minds  ?" 

I  repeated  the  conversation  I  had  held  with  Yan  Bol  in  the 
night.     He  listened  attentively. 

"  With  what  sort  of  manner  did  he  express   himself?"     he 
asked. 

"  He  was  respectful,  sir,"  I  answered,  for  now  I  would  often 
sir  my  friend  out  of  habit. 

He  sat  for  awhile  in  silence,  thinking  and  drumming  upon  the 
table.  Shortly  afterward  we  went  to  our  respective  berths,  and 
I  lay  reading  in  a  book  he  had  lent  me  until  four  o'clock. 
That  book — what  was  it  ?  It  was  the  "  Castle  of  Otranto."  I 
recollect  nothing  of  it  saving  the  gigantic  helmet.  But  what  a 
wizardry  there  is  in  names  !  Memories  forme  are  imperishably 
wreathed  round  about  the  title  of  that  old-fashioned,  all  but  for- 
gotten novel.  Never  do  I  hear  the  name  of  that  book  pro- 
nounced but  there  arises  before  me  the  picture  of  the  interior 
of  the  brig  Black  Watch.  I  behold  the  plainly-furnished  cabin, 
the  stand  of  arms,  the  midship  table  upon  which  Greaves  and 
I  would  lean,  heads  supported  on  our  elbows,  for  an  hour  at  the 
time,  yarning  over  the  past,  talking  about  the  future.  There  is 
a  finer  magic  in  names,  even  than  in  perfumes — a  subtler  power 
of  evocation.  I  forget  the  story  that  that  old  book  tells,  but 
the  simple  utterance  of  the  name  of  it  will  yield  me  a  vision  as 
sharp  in  detail,  as  brilliant  in  color,  as  though  it  were  the  real- 
ity beheld  at  noontide. 

The  trade  wind  freshened  again  in  the  evening.  At  sun- 
down it  was  blowing  too  strong  for  a  topgallant  studding  sail. 
There  was  the  promise  of  a  gale  in  the  windward  sky,  though 
I  felt  pretty  sure  that  no  gale  was  meant  ;  and  the  mercury 
hung  steady  in  the  cabin.  But  such  a  sky  as  it  was  !  bronzed 
with  the  western  light,  and  the  green  seas  shaping  out  of  it  in 
dissolving  heaps,  and  on  all  sides  a  wilderness  of  confused  airy 
coloring  that  sobered,  as  the  eye  watched,  to  the  stemming  of 
the  shadow  out  of  the  east.  I  never  beheld  such  a  wreckage 
of  cloud.  All  northeast  it  was  like  the  ruins  of  avast  conti- 
nent of  vapor,  huge  heaps  of  the  stuff,  mighty  pyramids,  round- 
backed  mountains  staring  with  copper  countenances  sunward, 
and  of  a  milk-white  softness  in  their  skirts.  I  thought  I  spied 
twenty  ships  among  them,  low  down,  where  the  sea  line  worked 
against  the  ridged  and  rising  and  breaking  stuff,  and  every  ship 


THE   ROUiXD  ROBIM.  1 15 

was  a  pinion  of  cloud  that  soared  into  a  Teneriffe,  then  went 
to  pieces,  and  sailed  in  rent  and  ragged  masses  over  our  mast- 
heads. 

I  spent  my  dog-watch  alone,  and  paced  the  deck,  keeping  an 
askant  eye  upon  the  crew,  who  were  lounging  about  the  galley. 
I  admired  the  postures  of  the  men.  How  long  does  a  man  need 
to  follow  the  sea  to  acquire  the  art  of  leaning  ?  The  boatmen 
of  our  coasts  are  artists  in  this  picturesque  accomplishment  ; 
but  there  is  no  man  leans  with  the  art  of  the  old,  deep-water 
sailor.  Not  a  bone  in  him  but  lounges.  The  very  pipe  in  his 
mouth  loafs. 

And  of  the  several  loafing,  lounging  pictures  upon  which  my 
eye  rested  the  completest  were  the  Dutchmen's.  But  theywtxQ 
built  for  it,  bolstered  as  they  were  by  a  swell  of  stern  that  pitched 
their  bodies  into  an  attitude  unattainable  by  the  English  Jacks, 
who,  like  all  British  sailors,  were  remarkable  for  flatness  there. 
Yan  Bol  walked  to  and  fro  abreast  of  the  row  of  loungers,  his 
hands  buried  in  his  pockets,  a  pipe  inverted  betwixt  his  lips,  his 
deep  voice  rumbling  at  intervals.  The  tones  of  the  men — I 
could  not  hear  their  speech — the  looks  of  them,  one  and  all, 
hinted  at  a  sort  of  dog-watch  council. 

'Twas  a  perfect  ocean  picture  in  that  dying  light.  The  brig 
pitched  heavily  as  she  rushed  forward,  and  under  the  wide  yawn 
of  the  swollen  foresail  you  saw,  as  her  bows  came  down,  the 
streaming  rush  of  the  white  waters  set  boiling  by  her  steam,  and 
sweeping  up  the  green  and  freckled  acclivity  into  whose  hollow 
she  liad  swept.  You  saw  the  figures  of  the  men  dimming  to  the 
deepening  shadow,  one  clear  tint  of  costume  after  another  wan- 
ing, the  red  shirt  growing  ashen,  the  blue  blending  with  the 
gloom,  here  and  there  a  face  stealing  out  red  against  the  light 
of  a  flaming  knot  of  ropeyarns  handed  through  the  galley  door 
for  lighting  a  pipe. 

Oh,  but  I  felt  weary  of  it,  though  !  That  salt  hissing  over 
the  side,  that  sullen  thunder  of  smiting  and  smitten  surge,  that 
ceaseless  shrilling  and  piping  aloft,  the  buoyant  rise,  the  roaring 
fall — I  was  fresh  from  two  years  of  it,  and  here  it  was  all  to  do 
and  to  liearken  to  and  to  suffer  over  again,  for  how  many  months  ? 
But,  courage  !  thought  I,  whistling  "  Tom  Bowling  "  in  time  with 
the  lift  of  the  seas  ;  there  should  be  plenty  of  land  in  sight  from 
the  height  of  such  a  heap  as  six  thousand  pounds  will  make. 
Only  is  it  a  dream  ?  is  it  a  dream  ?  is  it  a  dream  ?  and  the 
melody  of  "  Tom  Bowling"  sped  through  my  set  teeth  shriller 
than  the  song  of  the  backstay  that  my  hand  had  grasped. 


Ii6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

The  night  passed.  Nothhig  of  moment  happened.  The 
brig  throughout  my  watch  had  averaged  over  eleven  knots  an 
hour,  and  once,  on  heaving  the  log  when  tlie  wind  freshened 
into  a  squall,  the  fore  topmast  studding  sail  being  on  her,  the 
speed  rose  to  thirteen.  It  was  noble  sailing.  The  race  of  the 
milk  astern  was  so  glaring  white  that  in  the  darkest  hour  one 
could  almost  have  seen  to  read  by  it  as  by  moonlight.  Let 
what  will  come  along,  thought  I,  here  be  your  true  heels  for 
scornful  defiance.  What  was  likely  to  come  along  of  a  perilous 
sort  ?  Well,  it  was  impossible  to  say.  Prior  to  the  peace  two 
stout  French  frigates  had  been  dispatched  on  a  six  months' 
cruise  off  the  African  coast ;  they  had  stretched  across  to  the 
Western  Islands  ;  they  had  picked  up  a  Guineaman  or  two  ; 
but  we  did  not  know  then  that  their  fate  had  overtaken  them 
in  the  shape  of  a  two-decker  glorified  by  bunting  that  was,  is, 
and  forever  will  be  abhorred  by  tlie  French.  We  did  not 
know,  I  say,  tliat  the  two  Crapeaux  had  been  carried  away, 
tricolors  under  the  Union  Jack,  all  in  correct  keeping  with 
historic  teaching,  to  enlarge,  by  two  fine  ships,  the  fighting 
powers  of  Britannia.  But,  supposing  those  two  frigates  afloat  ; 
we  were  at  peace  with  France,  though,  to  be  sure,  the  frigates 
might  not  have  got  the  news  of  peace.  What  was  there 
to  be  afraid  of  on  the  ocean  ?  The  Yankee — the  jolly  pri- 
vateersman  on  his  own  hook  !  For  those  two  we  needed  to 
keep  a  bright  lookout  until  we  should  be  well  south  of  the 
equator.  Yet  could  I  not  imagine  anytliing' afloat  likely  to 
beat,  I  will  not  say  to  match,  the  Black  Watch.  That  I  felt,  as 
I  counted  the  knots  on  the  log  line  by  the  feeble  light  of  a 
lantern,  while  the  brig  washed  roaring  before  the  trade  squall, 
and  whitened  out  the  dark  ocean  till  it  looked  sheer  snow 
astern. 

Next  morning  I  was  in  my  cabin  after  breakfast  wlien  the  lad 
Jimmy  brought  me  a  message  from  Greaves.  I  put  down  my 
book  and  pipe,  got  out  of  my  bunk,  pulled  on  my  coat,  and  went 
to  the  captain's  berth.  He  was  holding  a  sheet  of  paper  be- 
fore him,  with  an  expression  of  amusement  on  his  face. 

"  Here's  a  Round  Robin,"  said  he.  "  You  may  judge  of  the 
quantity  of  literature  that  freights  our  forecastle  by  observing 
the  number  of  '  his  marks.'  It  seems  there  are  but  two  that  can 
write  their  names." 

He  extended  the  sheet  of  paper.  On  inspecting  it  I  found 
that  it  was  formed  of  several  sheets — spotted,  fly-blown,  and 
moldy — seemingly    blank   fly    leaves    from    two    or   three   old 


THE  ROUND  ROBIN. 


117 


volumes.  These  fly  leaves  were  stuck  together  by  glue,  and 
the  artist  who  had  fashioned  the  sheet  had  thought  proj^er  to 
clothe  the  sailors'  sentiments  with  crape,  by  ruling  broad  lines 
of  tar  along  the  margins.  This  strange  Round  Robin  ran 
thus : 


The  ink  with  which  this  Round  Robin  was  manufactured 
was  pale,  and  might  have  been  compounded  of  lampblack 
mixed  with  water.  The  handwriting  was  extraordinary — a 
Dutch  scrawl,  scarcely  decipherable  here  and  there.  When  I 
had  read  it  through,  and  twisted  the  thing  round  so  as  to 
peruse  the  names,  I  burst  into  a  laugh. 

*' It  is  Yan  Bol's  dictation,"  said  Greaves,  "and  Wirtz  took 
it  down.  Probably  a  whole  book  of  'Paradise  Lost'  gave 
Milton  less  trouble  than  this  composition  of  the  poor  devils 
forward." 


iiy  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

"  What  shall  you  do,  sir  ?  "  said  I,  putting  the  paper  down 
on  the  table. 

"  Oh,  the  petition  forces  my  hand.  It  is  the  whole  ship's 
company,  you  see,  barring  Jimmy,  who  delivered  it.  I  will  ask 
you  to  step  on  deck  and  tell  Bol  that  I'll  communicate  the  busi- 
ness of  the  voyage  to  the  men  this  afternoon  at  eight  bells." 
I  was  about  to  leave  the  berth.  "  I'll  frankly  own,  Fielding," 
he  exclaimed,  "  that  I  am  influenced  by  you  in  this  matter. 
If  you  were  in  my  place  you  would  no  longer  withhold  the 
secret  of  this  errand  from  the  crew  ?  " 

"  I  would  not.  My  argument  is  that  this  brig  must,  under 
any  circumstances,  be  navigated  by  a  sliip's  company.  A,  time 
must  come  when  you  will  be  obliged  to  trust  your  crew,  and 
the  present  crew  seem  to  me  as  likely  and  trustworthy  a  lot  as 
a  man  must  hope  to  meet  with  in  the  republic  of  the  mer- 
chantman's forecastle." 

"  I  lack  decision,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  why  ?  The  stake  is 
a  huge  one.     Well,  give  Yan  Bol  my  message,  will  you  ?  " 

I  left  him,  fetched  my  cap,  and  went  thoughtfully  on  deck. 
I  had  reckoned  him,  when  we  first  met,  a  man  of  strong  and 
energetic  character — a  person  in  the  first  degree  qualified  for 
the  control  of  a  ship  bound  on  such  a  mission  as  this  of 
gathering  dollars  from  a  hole  in  a  rock.  His  indecision  now 
was  a  disappointment,  and  it  puzzled  me.  It  did  not  please 
me  that  my  views  should  influence  him.  I  wished  that  he 
should  stand  bolt  upright  under  his  own  burden.  That  my 
views  would  not  have  influenced  him  in  any  other  direction 
than  this,  which  concerned  the  trustworthiness  of  the  men,  I 
fully  believed,  and  my  opinion  weighing  with  him  in  this  mat- 
ter increased  my  suspicion  of  the  credibility  of  his  story  of  the 
ship  imprisoned  in  the  cave  ;  fori  felt  that,  if  he  had  no  doubts 
at  all  that  his  ship  with  her  cargo  of  dollars  was  as  matter  of 
fact  a  reality  as  the  Black  Watch  herself,  his  method  of  ap- 
proaching her  would  be  based  on  iron-hard  resolutions  ; 
whereas,  if  he  had  dreamt  of  the  ship — if  his  hope  and  faith 
were  those  of  a  dream  only — then  might  there,  then  would 
there,  be  an  element  of  uncertainty  in  his  views  ;  and  such  an 
element  of  uncertainty  I  seemed  to  find  in  his  first  resolution 
not  to  impart  the  secret  of  the  voyage  to  the  men  until  the  brig 
was  south  of  the  equator,  an'd  in  his  sudden  determination  now 
to  communicate  that  secret  at  four  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

I  gained  the  deck.  Yan  Bol  stumped  the  planks.  He  was 
clad  in  heavy  clothes,  and  his  figure  looked  more  than  half  its 


THE  ROUND  ROBIN.  119 

usual  size.  In  fact,  the  further  we  drew  south  the  more  clothes 
did  Yan  Bol  heap  upon  his  back.  His  notion  was  that  what 
was  good  to  keep  out  the  cold  was  good  to  keep  out  the  heat. 
It  was  a  Dutchman's  notion  of  apparel,  like  to  the  Frenchman's 
idea  of  washing  :"  Why  should  I  wash  myself?  I  shall  be 
dirty  again." 

Yan  Bol  came  to  a  stand  when  I  rose  through  the  hatch. 
He  wore  a  fur  cap  with  flaps,  which  the  wind  shook  about  his 
ears.  I  did  not  choose  to  be  in  a  hurry,  though  he  seemed  to 
guess  my  mission,  and  eyed  me  out  of  the  flat  expanse  of  liis 
face  with  a  civil,  or  at  least  unconscious,  frown  of  expectation. 
I  looked  up  at  the  canvas  ;  I  gazed  round  upon  the  sea  ;  I 
walked  very  deliberately  to  the  binnacle,  and  stood  for  some 
moments  with  my  eyes  upon  the  compass-card,  observing  the 
behavior  of  the  brig  as  she  was  swung  along  her  course  by  the 
quartering  seas.     I  then  leisurely  approached  Bol. 

"  The  captain,"  said  I,  "  has  received  the  men's  Round  Robin 
and  has  read  it." 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  I  like  to  learn  vhat  he  tinks  of  her  as  a 
Roundt  Robin  ?  "  exclaimed  Bol. 

"  Wouldn't  you  first  like  to  hear  what  his  answer  is  ?  " 

"  Yaw,  certainly.  But  she  vhas  a  first-class  Roundt  Robin, 
and  I  likes  to  know  vhat  der  captain  says  to  him." 

"At  four  o'clock  this  afternoon  you  will  pipe  the  crew  aft, 
and  the  captain  will  then  tell  you  all  what  errand  this  brig  is 
bound  on." 

"Veil,  dot  vhas  as  he  should  be,"  he  exclaimed.  "  Ve  like 
to  know  by  dis  time  vhere  ve  vhas  boun'.  Did  you  read  dot 
Roundt  Robin?" 

"I  did." 

"Vhas  she  goodt?" 

"Good  enough  to  make  me  laugh." 

"  She  vhas  serious,  by  Cott,  Mr.  Fielding.  Vere  could  her 
laughter  be  ?     Dot  is  vhat  I  like  to  hear  now." 

''  A  Round  Robin  is  not  a  thing  to  be  criticised,"  said  I. 
"No  man  is  supposed  to  have  had  a  particular  share  in  the 
manufacture  of  it.  If  you  want  me  to  praise  this  Round  Robin 
I  shall  suppose  you  the  author  of  it." 

"  Dot  vhas  right,  but  still  I  ox,"  said  he,  in  his  deep  voice, 
slouching  his  cap  to  scratch  his  head,  "  vere  could  her  laughter 
be?" 

"  You  have  the  captain's  message,"  said  I,  "  and  you  will  re- 
peat it  to  the  men," 


I20  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

I  then  took  another  leisurely  look  round,  and  returned  to  my 
berth,  my  pipe,  and  my  book. 

At  eight  bells  in  the  afternoon  watch,  the  trade  wind  blow- 
ing freshly  on  the  quarter,  the  sea  running  in  dark  blue  heights 
with  the  frequent  sparkle  of  silver  flying  fish  at  the  coppered 
forefoot  of  the  brig,  and  the  sun  sliding  moist  and  warm  and 
misty  amid  the  breaks  in  the  clouds  southwest,  Yan  Bol,  com- 
ing out  of  the  caboose,  where  no  doubt  he  had  been  smoking  a 
pipe  in. company  with  the  cook,  who  was  a  Dutchman,  Hals 
by  name,  stood  upon  the  forecastle,  and  putting  his  whistle  to 
his  lips  blew  a  piercing  summons,  which,  methought,  found  an 
echo  in  the  very  hollow  of  the  distant  little  main  royal  itself, 
and  then,  opening  his  mouth,  he  delivered,  in  a  voice  of  thun- 
der, an  order  to  all  hands  to  lay  aft. 

The  men  were  awaiting  this  command  ;  they  did  not  need  to 
be  urged  aft.  I  had  noticed  the  impatience  with  which  they 
followed  the  chiming  of  the  bell  denoting  the  passage  of  time 
in  ship  fashion.  On  board  the  Black  Watch  we  kept  our  little 
bell  telling  the  hours  and  the  half-hours  as  punctually  as  though 
we  had  been  a  ship-of-war. 

The  crew  came  swiftly  and  gathered  abaft  the  mainmast, 
whence  the  quarter-deck  went  clear  to  the  taffrail.  Greaves 
had  been  on  deck  for  above  half-an-hour  past,  and  I  had  been 
watching  the  ship  since  noon.  No  man  can  look  so  expectant 
as  a  sailor.  He  it  is  who  above  all  men  reaches  to  the  highest 
possibilities  of  expression  in  the  shape  of  expectation — that  is 
to  say,  when  at  sea,  when  some  weeks  of  shipboard  are  between 
him  and  the  land  he  has  left  ;  when  the  full  spirit  of  the  mo- 
notony of  the  life  possesses  him,  and  when  a  very  little  thing 
becomes  a  very  great  thing  merely  because  there  is  very  little 
indeed  of  anything. 

I  had  some  difficulty  to  hold  my  countenance  when  I  looked 
at  the  crew.  They  were  going  to  hear  a  secret  ;  it  was  a  time 
of  prodigious  excitement,  and  every  face  was  shaped  by  rough 
sensations  and  feelings.  Greaves  was  smoking  a  long  paper 
cigar  ;  he  flung  what  remained  of  it  overboard,  and  with  a 
glance  behind  him,  as  though  calculating  the  distance  of  the 
man  at  the  helm,  that  the  fellow  might  hear  what  was  said,  he 
approached  the  sailors. 

"I  received  tlie  Round  Robin,  men,"  said  he,  "and  I  read 
it.  You  want  to  know  where  this  brig  is  bound  to  ?  I  don't 
blame  ye.  Mind,"  he  added,  wagging  his  forefinger  kindly  at 
them,  "  I  don't  blame  ye.     But  you  will  remember,  my  lads, 


II 


THE   ROUND    ROBIN.  I2I 

that  when  you  agreed  with  me  for  the  round  voyage,  whether  at 
London  or  at  Amsterdam,  it  was  understood  as  a  part  of  our 
compact  that  notliing  was  to  be  said  about  the  destination  of 
this  brig  until  we  were  south  of  the  equator." 

"  Dot  vhas  right  enough,  sir,"  said  Yan  Bol,  "  ve  all  say  yaw 
to  dot." 

We  are  not  south  of  the  equator  yet,"  said  Greaves. 
Dot  vhas  still  very  right,"  returned  Bol. 
Why  should  you  expect  me  to   break  through  my  under- 
standing with  you  ?" 

"  Captain,  it's  like  this,"  exclaimed  one  of  the  Englishmen, 
named  Thomas  Teach.  "  Had  the  secret  of  this  here  expedi- 
tion remained  yourn  and  yourn  only,  we  should  have  been 
willing  to  wait  for  your  own  time  to  larn  where  we  was  going  to. 
We've  got  nothing  to  say  against  Mr.  Fielding — quite  the 
contrairy  ;  he's  a  good  mate,  and  I  reckon  as  he  finds  us  men 
that  are  under  him  willing  and  civil." 
True,"  said  I  loudly. 

But,"  continued  Teach,  "  Mr.  Fielding  wasn't  one  of  the 
original  ship's  company.  With  all  proper  respect,  sir,  to  him 
and  to  you,  us  men  consider  that  since  he  knows  where  we're 
a-going  to,  it's  but  fair  that  we,  as  the  original  company,  should 
likewise  be  told  where  we're  a-going  to  without  waiting  to 
receive  the  news  till  we  cross  the  equator." 

He  looked  along  the  faces  of  his  mates,  and  there  was  a 
general  murmur  of  assent,  Bol's  grunt  deeply  accentuating  the 
forecastle  note  of  acquiescence. 

"  Enough  !  "  cried  Greaves,  "  I  am  not  here  to  reason  with 
you,  but  to  keep  my  promise.  You  want  to  know  where  this 
brig  is  bound  to  ?  Now  attend,  .and  you  shall  have  the  whole 
secret  in  the  wag  of  a  dog's  tail.  D'ye  know  the  Galapagos, 
any  of  you  ?  " 

"  I've  sighted  them  islands,"  answered  the  seaman  named 
Friend.     The  rest  held  their  peace. 

"  Well,"  continued  Greaves,  "  south  of  the  Gallapagos  there's 
an  island,  and  in  that  island  there's  a  cave,  and  in  that  cave 
there  stands,  grounded,  with  the  heads  of  the  topmasts  hard 
pressed  against  the  roof  of  the  cave,  a  large  full-rigged  ship, 
and  in  the  hold  of  that  large  full-rigged  ship,  there  lies,  stowed 
away,  a  number  of  cases  filled  with  Spanish  dollars.  Those 
cases  we  are  going  to  fetch,  and  thafs  the  brig's  errand." 

The  four  Dutch  seamen  gazed  slowly  at  one  another  ;  the 
Englishmen's  glance  had  more  of  life,  but  it  was  easy  to  see 


122  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

that  every  man  marveled  greatly,  each  according  to  his  powers 
of  feeling  astonished.  I  seemed  to  notice  that  one  or  two 
doubted  their  hearing,  by  their  manner  of  gazing  about  them 
as  though  to  make  sure  of  their  surroundings.  After  a  pause 
Yan  Bol  said  : 

"  She  vhas  roundt  der  Hoorn." 

"  Where  else,  Yan  ?  "  exclaimed  Friend. 

"  A  ship  in  a  cave  !  "  cried  William  Galen  ;  "  dot  vhas  funny, 
captain." 

"  Fire  away  with  your  remarks,  and  ask  your  questions," 
said  Greaves  good-naturedly,  and  he  plunged  his  hands  in  his 
pockets,  and  walked  to  and  fro  abreast  of  the  men, 

"  Ship  or  no  ship,"  exclaimed  Travers,  "  I  allow  that  that 
there  island's  to  be  our  port — there  and  home  a-constitooting 
the  voyage  ?  " 

"  That's  so,"  said  Greaves  ;  "  any  more  questions?" 

"  A  ship  in  a  cave  !  Dot  vhas  strange,"  said  Bol.  "Suppose 
dot  ship  hov  gone  proke,  und  you  findt  der  cave  mit  noting 
inside.^     Ve  go  home  all  der  same  ?  " 

"  All  the  same,"  echoed  Greaves. 

"  And  if  the  vessel's  there,  sir,  and  the  dollars? "  said  a  man 
named  Call,  in  a  thin  voice. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  know?  "  demanded  Greaves. 

The  fellow,  with  some  hesitation,  brought  out  his  question. 

"  Was  the  job  going  to  bring  more  money  than  the  wages 
that  was  to  be  took  up  ?  " 

"  When  the  divisions  have  been  made,"  replied  Greaves, 
looking  at  Bol,  *'  there  will  remain  a  trifle  over  sixty-one  thou- 
sand dollars — about  twelve  hundred  and  twenty  pounds — to  be 
divided  among  the  eleven  of  ye  according  to  your  ratings." 

Again  the  sailors  gazed  at  one  another  with  looks  of  aston- 
ishment, which,  in  several  of  them,  quickly  made  way  for  broad 
grins. 

"  That's  a  hundred  pounds  a  man,"  said  Call,  in  his  thin 
voice. 

"The  divisions  will  be  according  to  your  ratings,  I  told 
you,"  exclaimed  Greaves.  "  Bol  would  get  more  than  the  cabin 
boy.  He  would  expect  more."  Bol  gave  a  short,  massive 
nod,  "  You  have  now  heard  the  nature  of  this  voyage,"  said 
Greaves,  coming  to  a  pause  in  his  walk  to  and  fro  abreast  of 
the  men,  "  does  any  man  among  you  find  anything  to  object  to 
in  it?  Is  there  any  man  among  you,"  he  continued,  after  a 
considerable  interval  of  silence,  during  which  I  had  observed 


THE  ROUND   ROBIN.  123 

him  regard  the  men  steadfastly  one  after  the  other,  "who  feels 
disinclined  to  make  the  voyage  round  the  Horn  to  the  island 
and  home  again  with  a  small  cargo  of  silver  money  ?  " 

"  She  vhas  a  voyage  to  suit  me,"  said  Bol,  "  I  likes  der  scheme." 

Several  of  the  men  made  observations  to  the  same  effect. 

"  May  we  take  it,  sir,"  said  the  small-voiced  Call,  "  that  we 
receive  the  wages  we  agreed  for  as  well  as  this  here  hundred 
pound  a  man,  to  call  it  so  ?  " 

"You  may  take  it,"  said  Greaves  shortly. 

"  Beg  pardon,  cap'n,"  said  Hals,  the  cook,  knuckling  his  fore- 
head, and  contriving  a  clumsy  sea  bow  with  a  scrape  of  a  spade- 
shaped  foot,  "  how  long  might  dot  ship  hov  been  in  der  cave  ?" 

"How  long?     Since  1810." 

"Who  see  her,  cap'n,"  said  Bol. 

"  I  did." 

"And  did  you  see  der  dollars?"  said  Hals,  again  knuckling 
his  brow  and  again  scraping  his  foot. 

"Yes;  but  you  now  know  the  motive  of  the  voyage,  and 
there's  an  end.  If  any  man  is  not  satisfied  let  him  say  so.  We 
can  make  shift,  no  doubt,  with  fewer  hands,  and  the  fewer  the 

crew  the  larger  each  man's  share.     Note  that.     The  fewer " 

and  he  repeated  the  sentence.  '"  I  have  agreements  in  my 
pockets  for  each  of  you,  in  which  Heer  Bartholomew  Tulp,  the 
charterer  of  this  brig  and  the  promoter  of  this  expedition,  agrees 
to  divide  the  sum  of  sixty-one  thousand  dollars — supposing  the 
ship  to  be  still  in  the  cave  and  the  money  to  be  still  on  board 
of  her — in  which  Mr  Tulp,  I  say,  agrees  to  divide  sixty-one 
thousand  dollars  among  the  crew  who  return  home  in  the  ship, 
the  proportions  according  to  their  ratings  to  be  determined." 
He  put  his  hand  upon  his  breast.  "But,  before  I  hand  you 
these  documents,  I  must  know  that  you  are  satisfied  with  the 
intention  of  the  voyage." 

"  We  are  satisfied,"  was  the  answer  delivered  by  a  number 
of  voices,  as  though  one  man  had  spoken. 

On  this,  without  saying  another  word,  he  pulled  out  a  little 
bundle  of  papers,  and,  glancing  at  each — all  being  inscribed 
with  the  respective  names  of  the  men — he  handed  one  to  Yan 
Bol,  and  a  second  to  Friend,  and  a  third  to  Meehan,  and  so  on, 
until  every  man  saving  the  fellow  at   the  wheel  had  a  paper. 

"Give  this  to  Street,  Mr.  Fielding,"  said  Greaves  ;  and,  tak- 
ing the  paper,  I  went  to  the  wheel  and  gave  it  to  the  man  who 
grasped  the  spokes. 

The  only  two  sailors  who  could  read,  Bol  and  Wirtz,  opened 


124  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

the  papers  and  looked  at  them.  The  others  put  theirs  in  their 
pockets. 

"There  is  nothing  more  to  be  said,"  exclaimed  the  captain  ; 
"  but  should  any  man  feel  dissatisfied — whether  to-day,  after 
you  have  talked  over  what  I  have  told  you,  or  later  on,  when 
you  have  had  plenty  of  leisure  to  think — let  him  come  to  me. 
He  shall  have  his  wages  down  to  date,  and  be  transhipped  or 
set  ashore  at  the  first  opportunity  ;  for  the  fewer  we  are  the 
richer  we  are.     You  can  now  go  forward." 

He  turned  and  stepped  aft,  calling  to  me. 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

A    MIDNIGHT    SCARE. 

Captain  Greaves  stepped  aft,  calling  to  me,  as  I  have  said, 
and  I  followed  him  below  to  his  berth,  after  pausing  to  make 
sure  that  Yan  Bol  had  taken  charge  of  the  brig  ;  for  it  would 
be  liis  watch  till  six,  and  mine  till  eight,  and  his  again  till 
midnight. 

The  captain  closed  the  door  of  his  berth,  and  exclaimed  : 

"I  have  no  bond -or  agreement  bearing  Tulp's  signature  to 
offer  you,  because  the  document  he  signed  was  made  out  in 
the  name  of  Van  Laar,  and  is,  consequently,  worthless  ;  but 
my  undertaking  Avill  secure  you  as  effectually  as  tliough  it  bore 
Tulp's  name  ;  and  I  now  propose  to  make  out  such  a  bond  for 
you." 

He  took  a  sheet  of  foolscap  from  a  drawer,  seated  himself, 
dipped  a  quill  into  an  ink-dish,  and  Avrote. 

I  have  lost  that  paper.  Years  ago  I  mislaid  it,  though  there 
were  few  memorials  of  my  life  tliat  I  could  not  have  better 
spared.  Its  substance,  however,  I  recollect,  of  course,  and 
what  Greaves  wrote  was  to  this  effect  : 

That  having  appointed  me  chief  mate  of  the  brig  Black 
Watch,  in  the  room  of  Jacob  Van  Laar,  he  agreed  that  the 
share  in  dollars — to  wit,  30,556 — that  was  to  have  been  Van 
Laar's  had  he  proved  himself  a  competent  mate  and  remained 
in  the  ship,  should  be  paid  to  me — that  is  to  say,  to  William 
Fielding  ;  and  here  he  entered  certain  particulars  stating  my 
age,  place  of  birth,  my  professional  antecedents  ;  and  he  like- 
wise sketched  very  happily  in  words  my  face  and  appearance, 
"  that  Tulp,"  said  he,  "  shall  not  be  able  to  pretend  you  are 
not   the  right  man,    and  so  wriggle  out   of   what    this  docu- 


A    MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  125 

ment  commits  him  to,  in  case  I  should  not  live  to  reach 
home." 

More  went  to  this  document  than  I  need  trouble  you  with. 
I  watched  him  while  he  wrote.  There  was  an  expression  of 
enthusiasm  in  his  face,  as  though  he  found  a  sort  of  joy  in 
writing  freely  about  thousands  of  dollars.  "  Should  it  prove  a 
dream,"  thought  I,  stooping  to  caress  Galloon,  who  lay  at  my 
feet,  "  what  will  the  jolly  Dutch  and  English  hearts  of  this  brig 
say  when  we  arrive  at  the  island — if  such  an  island  exists  ! — 
and  find  not  only  no  ship,  but  not  even  a  cave?"  But  the 
vision  of  Tulp  came  to  the  rescue  again.  A  specter,  formed 
mainly  of  a  leering  eye,  a  sleek  and  wary  grin,  and  a  velvet  cap, 
seemed  to  gaze  at  me  from  behind  Greaves  ;  and  I  pocketed 
the  document  with  a  feeling  that  almost  rose  to  conviction  after 
I  had  read  it,  at  my  friend's  request,  and  tlianked  him  very 
warmly  for  his  kindness  and  for  his  friendly  and  particular  in- 
terest in  me. 

We  sat  talking  over  what  had  passed  between  him  and  the 
crew. 

"  One  point,"  said  he,  "  I  believe  I  have  scored  :  I  have 
made  them  understand  that  the  fewer  they  are  the  richer  they 
will  be.  I  hope  this  notion  may  not  lead  to  some  of  them 
chucking  the  others  overboard.  They'll  all  stick  to  the  ship 
till  the  island  is  reached  and  the  dollars  are  stowed.  After- 
ward will  be  my  anxious  time.  But  the  adventure  must  be 
gone  through,  and  it  remains  also  to  be  seen  whether  the  brig 
is  not  to  be  navigated  during  the  homeward  run  by  fewer  men 
than  we  now  carry.  The  fewer  the  better.  I  should  wish  to 
see  six  men  forward — no  more — and  three  of  us  aft,  for  Jimmy 
is  to  be  reckoned  as  a  cabin  hand,  and,  saving  Bol  and  Wirtz, 
there's  not  a  man,  in  my  humble  opinion,  whose  spine  that 
knockkneed,  shambling,  slobbered  Cockney  lad — a  creature 
you  would  set  down  as  a  funeral-and-wedding  idiot  merely — 
has  not  tlie  strength  to  snap." 

Soon  afterward  we  went  to  supper,  for  at  sea  the  last  meal 
is  so  called,  and  in  the  cabin  we  supped  at  half-past  five  ;  at 
six  I  relieved  Yan  Bol.  The  men  seemed  to  be  waiting  for  him 
to  come  off  duty.  They  were  smoking  and  talking  round  about 
their  favorite  haunt — the  caboose.  Some  of  them  were  so  hairy 
and  some  of  them  so  flat  of  countenance  that  it  was  impossible 
to  gather  what  was  in  their  minds  from  the  looks  of  them.  Bol 
went  into  the  caboose,  whence  presently  issued  a  quantity  of 
tobacco  smoke  in  a  procession  of  puffs.     I  heard  his  voice  rum- 


126  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

bling  ;  it  was  like  the'groaning  of  a  distant  tempest.  I  was  too 
far  aft  to  hear  what  he  said,  and  there  was  likewise  much  noise 
of  wind  in  the  rigging,  and  a  shrill  lashing  of  brine  alongside. 

The  sailors  made  a  press  at  the  caboose  door,  some  in  and 
some  out,  and  those  who  were  out  stood  in  hearkening  postures, 
their  heads  eagerly  bent  forward,  the  hand  of  the  hindmost 
upon  the  shoulder  of  his  fellow  iii  front  of  him.  Bol's  voice 
rumbled.  It  was  clear  he  was  reading  aloud,  so  continuous 
was  the  rumbling,  and  presently  I  found  that  I  had  guessed 
right  when  I  saw  the  outermost  man  hand  his  paper  in  through 
the  caboose  door.  In  short,  every  sailor  wanted  his  document 
read  aloud,  two  men  only  being  able  to  read,  and  of  these  two 
Yan  Bol  was  the  more  intelligible  to  the  Englishmen. 

Well,  after  this  for  some  days  I  find  nothing  worth  noting. 
A  thing  then  happened,  a  trifling  ocean  incident  some  might 
deem  it,  but  it  left  an  odd  strong  impression  upon  me,  and 
after  all  these  years  I  can  live  through  it  again  in  memory  as 
though  now  was  the  hour  of  its  happening. 

We  had  sailed  out  of  the  northeast  trade  wind,  and  had 
entered  that  zone  of  equatorial  calms  and  baffling  winds 
which  is  termed  by  sailors  the  doldrums.  To  this  point  we 
had  made  a  fine  run.  Such  another  run  down  the  South 
Atlantic  must  promise  us  a  prompt  arrival  at  the  island,  unless 
we  should  meet  with  the  Dutchman  Vanderdecken's  devil's 
luck  off  the  Horn.  Neither  Bol  nor  I  spared  the  men,  when 
our  forefoot  smote  the  greasy  waters  of  the  creeping  and 
sneaking  parallels.  To  every  breath  that  tarnished  the  white 
surface  of  the  sea  we  braced  the  yards,  making  nothing  of 
running  a  studding  sail  aloft,  though  five  minutes  afterward 
the  watch  might  be  hauling  it  down  with  all  aback  forward  and 
the  brig  going  astern.  By  this  sort  of  watchfulness,  and  by  the 
willingness  of  the  men,  and  by  the  slipperiness  of  our  coppered 
bends,  we  sneaked  our  keel  forward,  every  twenty-four  hours 
showing  what  sometimes  rose  to  a  "run." 

It  was  in  about  one  degree  north,  that  down  east  at  sunrise, 
in  the  heart  of  the  dazzle  there,  we  spied  a  sail,  a  topsail 
schooner,  that  as  the  morning  advanced  lifted  toward  us  as 
though  she  were  set  our  way  by  a  current,  for,  often  as  I  looked 
at  her,  I  never  could  see  that  she  shifted  her  helm  to  close  us 
whenever  a  draught  of  air  swept  the  shadows  out  of  her  canvas 
and  held  them  steadily  shining  and  gave  her  life  for  a  while. 

A  serene  cloudless  day  was  that,  the  light  azure  of  the  sky 
whitening  into   a  look  of  quicksilver  where  it  sloped  to  the 


A   MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  127 

brim  of  the  sea,  and  the  sea  floating  thick  and  hushed  and 
white,  with  a  long  and  lazy  heave  that  ran  a  drowsy  shudder 
through  our  canvas.  Greaves  thought  the  schooner  a  man-of- 
war,  something  British  stationed  on  the  West  African  coast, 
well  out  in  the  Atlantic  for  a  sniff  of  mid-ocean  air,  brought 
there  by  a  chase,  and  now  bound  inward  again,  though  subtly 
lifting  toward  us  at  present,  attracted  by  the  smartness  of  our 
rig,  and  inspired  by  a  dream  of  slaves.  But  I  did  not  think 
her  a  man-of-war,  I  did  not  believe  her  English.  A  Yankee  I 
did  not  reckon  her.  In  short,  I  seemed  to  know  what  she  was 
not. 

The  morning  wore  away.  At  noon  the  schooner  was  show- 
ing to  the  height  of  her  covering  board,  that  is  to  say,  she  had 
risen  her  bulwarks  above  the  line  of  the  horizon,  but  the  re- 
fraction was  troublesome  ;  she  swam  in  the  lenses  of  the  tele- 
scope, she  was  blurred  as  though  pierced  with  fragments  of 
looking-glass  along  the  risen  black  length  of  her,  and  some- 
times I  seemed  to  see  gun-ports,  and  sometimes  I  believed  them 
an  illusion  of  the  atmosphere. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  her.  Fielding  ? "  said  Greaves,  while 
we  stood  at  noon,  quadrants  in  hand,  taking  the  altitude  of 
the  sun. 

"I  don't  like  her  looks,  sir,"  I  answered. 

"  Nor  I.  I  believe  now  that  she  is  a  large  Spanish  schooner 
with  hatches  readv  at  a  call  to  vomit  cut-throats  in  scores. 
We'll  test  her." 

A  light  breeze  was  then  blowing  off  the  starboard  quarter. 
Our  helm  was  shifted,  the  yards  braced  to  the  air  of  wind,  and  the 
brig  was  headed  about  west.  We  made  eight  bells,  and  grasped 
our  quadrants,  waiting  and  watching.  For  about  ten  minutes 
the  schooner,  that  was  now  dead  astern,  held  steadily  on  ;  her 
broad  spaces  of  canvas  then  came  rounding  and  fining  down 
into  a  thin  silver  stroke,  somewhat  aslant.  Greaves  picked  up 
the  glass  and  leveled  it  at  her. 

"  She  is  after  us,"  he  exclaimed,  "and,  blank  her,  it  won't  be 
dark  for  another  seven  hours  !  " 

"  She  may  yet  prove  an  English  man-of-war,"  said  I. 

"  I  wish  I  could  believe  it  now,"  said  he  ;  "we  must  make  a 
stern  chase  of  it.  Our  heels  are  as  smart  as  hers,  I  dare  say, 
and  this  is  good  weather  for  dodging  until  the  blackness 
comes,  unless  the  beast  should  send  boats,  in  which  case  there 
are  thirteen  of  us,  mostlv  Englishmen." 

He  went  below  to  work  out  the  sights,  leaving  me  to   put 


128  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

our  brig  into  a  posture  of  defense,  and  to  make  the  most 
of  the  weak  catspaws  which  breathed  and  died.  Ammuni- 
tion was  got  up,  the  two  long  brass  guns  loaded  with  round 
shot,  the  carronades  with  grape  to  slap  at  the  first  boat  that 
should  come  within  range.  In  a  very  little  while  our  decks 
presented  a  somewhat  formidable  appearance  with  chests  of 
muskets  and  pistols  loaded  with  ball  and  slugs,  round  and 
grape  shot  ready  for  handling,  a  cask  full  of  cartridges,  a  sheaf 
of  boarding-pikes,  cutlasses  at  liand  to  snatch,  and  so  on,  and 
so  on. 

It  is  old-fashioned  stuff  to  write  about  !  yet  your  grand- 
fathers managed  very  handsomely  with  it,  somehow,  old  stuff  as 
it  is.  It's  the  city  of  Amsterdam  that  is  shored  up  and  held 
on  end  by  piles  ;  so  does  the  constitution  of  this  country  rest 
on  the  boarding-pike.  You  clap  a  trident  in  the  hand  of  your 
goddess  of  the  farthing  and  the  halfpenny.  Wiiy  not  a  board- 
ing-pike ?  That  is  Britannia's  own  symbol.  It  was  not  with 
a  trident  that  this  invincible  goddess  charged  into  the  channels, 
and  swarmed  over  the  bristling  and  castellated  sides  of  her  thrice- 
tiered  thunderous  enemies,  and  swept  all  opponents  under 
hatches  and  battened  them  down  there.  It  was  the  boarding- 
pike  that  did  that  work.  But  a  weapon,  the  most  victorious  of 
all  in  the  hands  of  the  British  tar,  is  doomed,  I  fear.  Its  fate  is 
sealed.  The  giant  Steam  has  laid  it  across  his  knee,  and  waits 
but  to  fetch  a  breath  or  two  to  break  it  in  twain.  Be  it  so. 
But  laugli  at  me  not  as  an  old-fashioned  proser  when  I  say 
that  it  will  be  an  evil  day  for  England  when  the  boarding-pike 
shall  have  been  stowed  away  as  a  weapon  that  can  be  no  longer 
serviceable  in  the  hands  of  the  British  Jacks. 

We  ran  the  ensign  aloft  ;  the  schooner  took  no  notice. 
Some  breathing  of  air  down  her  way  enabled  her  to  slightly 
gain  upon  us.  She  sneaked  her  hull  up  the  sea  to  the  strake  of 
her  water  line,  but  she  was  end  on,  and  little  was  to  be  made  of 
her.  It  then  fell  a  sheet  calm,  and  the  stranger  at  that  hour 
might  have  been  about  five  miles  astern  of  us.  It  was  a  little 
after  four  in  the  afternoon.  The  heat  was  fierce.  The  planks 
of  the  deck  burnt  like  hot  furnace-bricks  through  the  soles  of 
the  shoes,  the  pitch  bubbled  between  the  seams,  and  in  the 
steamy  vapor  that  rose  from  the  brig's  sides  the  lines  of  her 
bulwark  rails  snaked  faking  to  her  bows  as  though  they  were 
alive.  The  very  heave  of  the  sea  fell  dead  ;  at  long  intervals 
only  came  a  rounded  slope  sluggishly  traveling  to  us,  brim- 
ming to  the  sides  of  the  brig,  slightly  swaying  her,  and  making 


A   MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  1 29 

you  think,  as  it  rolled  dark  from  t'other  side  of  the  vessel,  of 
the  sullen  rising  of  some  long,  scaly,  filthy  monster  out  of  the 
ooze  to  the  greasy  chocolate  surface  of  a  West  African  river. 

"What  is  that  ?"  suddenly  exclaimed  Greaves,  who  had  been 
standing  at  my  side  looking  at  the  schooner. 

I  pointed  the  glass. 

"  A  boat,  sir,"  said  I.  "  A  minute — I  shall  be  able  to  count 
her  oars.     Five  of  a  side.     She  is  a  big  boat  and  full  of  men." 

He  took  the  telescope  from  me  and  leveled  it  in  silence. 

"  She  is  a  privateersman,"  said  he.  "  There's  nothing  of  the 
man-o'-war  in  the  rise  and  fall  of  those  blades  ;  and  if  yonder 
oarsmen  are  not  foreigners,  my  name  is  Bartholomew  Tulp. 
Fielding,  those  scoundrels  must  not  arrest  this  voyage,  by 
Isten  !  There  is  nothing  for  them  to  plunder.  They  will  cut 
our  throats  and  fire  the  brig.  Oh,  blow,  my  sweet  breeze  ! 
What  sort  of  a  gunner  are  you  ? " 

"  A  bad  gunner,"  I  answered. 

"  I'll  try  'em  myself.  I'll  try  'em  with  the  first  shot  !  "  he  cried, 
with  his  face  full  of  blood  and  his  eyes  on  fire.  "  There  will 
be  time  to  load  and  slap  thrice  at  them  before  they're  alongside, 

and  then "      He  turned,  and  shouted  orders  to  the  men 

to  arm  themselves  to  repel  boarders  and  to  prepare  for  a  bloody 
resistance.  "  Every  man  of  ye  will  have  to  fight  as  though  you 
were  three!"  he  roared.     "You  will  know  what  to  expect  if 

you  let  those  beauties  board  you.     Yan  Bol "  and  he  shouted 

twenty  further  instructions,  which  left  the  men  armed  to  the 
teeth,  ready  to  leap  to  the  first  syllable  of  order  that  should  be 
rendered  necessary  by  the  movements  of  the  boat. 

But  at  this  moment  I  caught  sight  of  a  dim  blue  line  on  the 
Avhite  edge  of  the  sea  in  the  north.  It  was  a  breeze  of  wind, 
something  more  than  a  catspaw.  The  color  was  sweet  and  deep, 
and  it  spread  fast  ;  yet  not  so  fast  but  that  it  was  odds  if  the 
boat  were  not  alongside  before  our  sails  should  have  felt  the 
first  of  the  wind. 

Greaves  sighted  the  long  brass  stern-piece,  lovingly  smote  it, 
and  then  directed  it  on  its  pivot  as  though  it  were  a  telescope. 

"  Stand  by  to  load  again,  men  !  "  he  cried  to  a  couple  of 
sailors  who  were  at  hand,  and  applied  the  match. 

The  explosion  made  a  noble  roar  of  thunder.  The  gun  might 
have  been  a  sixty-four  pounder  for  that — nay,  big  as  one  of 
those  infernal  pieces  which  worried  well-meaning  Duckworth 
in  the  Dardanelles.  The  ball  flew  ricochetting  for  the  boat, 
rhythmic  feathers  of  water  attending  its  flight,  as  though  it  chiseled 


130  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

chips  of  crystal  out  of  the  mirror  it  fled  along.  It  missed  the 
boat,  but  it  fell  close  enough  to  flash  a  burst  of  while  water  that 
may  have  wetted  some  of  the  rogues  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  so 
finely  aimed  that  our  men  roared  out  a  cheer  for  the  marks- 
man. 

That  round  shot  achieved  an  unexpected  result.  The  oars 
ceased  to  sparkle,  the  boat  came  to  a  stand  ;  and  this  while 
our  piece  was  loading  afresh. 

"  Oh,  ye  saints,  one  and  all,  give  it  to  me  to  smite  'em  this 
time,"  prayed  Greaves  through  his  teeth. 

Wink  went  a  gun  in  the  bows  of  the  boat  ;  a  puff  like  a 
cloud  of  tobacco  smoke  out  of  Yan  Bol's  mouth  rolled  a  little 
aside,  and  floated  stationary  and  enlarging.  The  report  came 
along  like  the  single  bark  of  a  dog,  but  we  saw  nothing  of  the 
ball. 

"  Oh,  come  nearer — oh,  come  nearer  !  "  groaned  Greaves  in 
his  throat  ;  and  again  he  laid  the  piece,  and  again  he  applied 
the  match,  and  a  second  volcanic  burst  of  noise  followed  the 
fiery  belch. 

The  final  flash  of  water  was  astern  of  the  boat  this  time  ; 
but  Greaves'  second  dose,  leveled  with  amazing  precision,  con- 
sidering tlie  range,  coming  on  top  of  the  wind,  the  fresh,  dark 
blue  shadow  of  which  would  now  be  visible  to  the  fellows  astern, 
satisfied  them.  With  mightily  relieved  hearts  we  beheld  them 
pull  the  boat's  head  round  for  the  schooner,  and,  some  minutes 
before  they  were  got  within  the  shadow  of  her  side,  the  breeze 
was  rounding  our  canvas,  and  the  brig  was  wrinkling  the  water 
as  she  gathered  way  to  the  impulse  aloft. 

"  Those  gentry  have  not  yet  arrived  at  the  Englishman's 
notion  of  boarding,"  said  Greaves.  "  Your  brass  gun  always 
speaks  loudly.  There  was  a  note  in  the  voice  of  this  chap  that 
deceived  them.  Their  own  schooner,  probably,  carried  noth- 
ing so  heavy." 

He  slapped  the  breech  of  the  brass  piece,  sent  a  contemptu- 
ous look  at  the  schooner,  and  fell  to  pacing  the  deck. 

The  breeze  sliglitly  freshened  and  we  drove  along — consid- 
erably off  our  course,  indeed,  but  that  could  not  be  helped  :  for 
the  blue  shadow  of  the  wind  was  over  tlie  schooner ;  she  was 
heeling  to  the  small,  hot  gush  of  the  draught ;  she  had  picked 
up  her  boat  and  was  in  pursuit  of  us.  We  waited  awhile,  and 
then,  finding  that  she  held  her  own — nay,  that  she  was  very 
slowly  closing  us,  indeed — we  put  our  helm  up  and  squared 
away  dead  before  it,  leaving  her  to  follow  ik  as  best  she  might 


A   MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  13 1 

with  nothing  more  that  would  draw  than  a  square  topsail  and 
topgallant  sail  and  a  big  squaresail. 

By  sunset  we  had  run  her  into  an  orange-colored  star  on  the 
edge  of  the  dark  blue  sea  in  the  north  ;  yet  the  cuss  was  still 
in  chase,  and,  when  the  dusk  came,  we  braced  up  on  the 
larboard  tack,  with  the  hope  of  losing  her,  and  steered  south- 
east. 

It  was  dark  at  eight  o'clock,  and  a  strange  sort  of  darkness  it 
was.  All  the  wind  was  gone,  and  the  sea  gleamed  like  black  oil 
smoking.  The  atmosphere  had  that  smoky  look  ;  spiral  folds 
of  gloom  seemed  to  stand  up  on  the  ocean,  stretching  tendrils 
of  vapor  athwart  the  stars  and  hiding  most  of  them.  'Twas  a 
mere  atmospheric  effect  ;  yet  all  this  blending  of  dyes,  this 
thickening  and  thinning  of  the  dusk,  this  heavy  and  stagnant 
intermingling  of  shadow  around  the  sea  produced  the  very 
effect  of  vapor.  Sight  was  blinded  at  the  distance  of  a  pistol- 
'shot,  and  the  ocean  lay  as  though  suffocated  under  the  burden 
of  the  hush  of  the  night. 

We  kept  all  lights  carefully  screened,  and  the  lookout  was 
told  to  keep  his  ears  open  ;  but  neither  Greaves  nor  I  felt  un- 
easy. The  schooner  had  been  far  astern  when  the  evening 
fell,  and  our  shift  of  helm,  with  a  pretty  considerable  run  into 
the  southeast,  could  scarcely  fail  to  throw  her  off  the  scent. 
But  it  is  true,  nevertheless,  that  vessels  in  stagnant  weather  have 
a  human  trick  of  turning  up  close  together.  I  have  been  in  a 
flat  calm  with  a  ship  a  long  mile  and  a  half  distant  from  us, 
and  in  a  few  hours  both  vessels  have  had  boats  out  towing,  to 
keep  the  ships  clear.  Have  vessels  sexes  ?  I  believe  so.  It 
will  not  do  to  talk  of  the  magnetic  influence  of  wooden  fabrics. 
Ships  are  sentient  ;  the  male  ship  with  the  nostrils  of  her 
hawse-pipes  sniffs  the  female  ship  afar,  and  the  twain,  taking 
advantage  of  a  breathless  atmosphere,  and  of  the  helplessness  of 
skippers — which  there  is  no  virtue  in  cursing  to  remedy — all 
imperceptibly  float  one  to  the  other  till,  if  permitted,  they 
affectionately  rub  noses,  then,  lover-like,  (juarrel,  snap  jib 
booms,  bring  down  topgallant  masts,  and  behave  in  other  ways 
humanly. 

It  was  somewhere  about  ten  o'clock  that  night  tliat  Greaves 
and  I  were  seated  on  the  skylight,  smoking  and  talking,  but  all 
the  while  keeping  an  eye  upon  the  deep  shadow  in  whose  heart 
the  brig  was  sleeping,  and  listening  for  any  sound  upon  the 
water.  All  hands  were  on  deck.  They  lay  about,  dozing  or 
mumbling  in  conversation  ;  but  they  were  in  readiness,  armed 


132  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

as  when  the  boat  had  been  approaching,  and  the  carronades  and 
two  great  guns  were  loaded  and  deck  lanterns  were  alight 
below,  hidden.  The  brig  was  prepared,  nay,  doubly  prepared  ; 
for  it  was  no  man's  intention  to  let  the  boats  of  the  schooner 
take  us  unawares.  Our  voyage  and  our  lives  were  not  to  be 
brought  to  a  hideous  and  untimely  end  by  a  scoundrel  pica- 
roon. 

I  had  seen  Yan  Bol  that  afternoon  before  the  dusk  closed  in, 
after  looking  at  the  schooner,  advance  his  fearful  fist  and  writhe 
it  into  an  incomparable  suggestion  of  throttling,  with  such  an 
expression  of  countenance  as  was  as  heartening  as  the  accession 
of  a  dozen  picked  men.  And  this  little  circumstance  was  I 
relating  to  Greaves  as  we  sat  together  on  the  edge  of  the  sky- 
light, smoking. 

"  He  is  a  heavy,  terrible  man,"  said  Greaves.  "  If  the 
schooner's  people  are  Spanish,  as  I  believe,  I  shall  reckon  Yan 
Bol  good  for  ten  of  them,  at  least.  The  other  Dutchmen 
would  be  good  for  four  apiece,  and  the  remainder  may  be  left 
to  our  own  countrymen  of  the  jacket." 

"  The  Dutch  fight  well,"  said  I. 

"  Deucedly  well,"  he  answered;  "often  have  they  proved 
our  match.  I  would  rather  have  fought  the  combined  fleets  at 
Trafalgar  than  De  Winter's  ships.  Duncan's  was  a  more 
difficult,  and,  therefore,  a  more  splendid  victory  than  our 
nation  seems  to  have  realized.  But  the  truth  is,  little  Horatio's 
flaming  sun  filled  the  national  sky  at  that  time  with  its  own 
blazing  light,  and  all  was  sunk  in  the  splendor,  though  there 
were  other  suns  ;  oh,  yes,  there  were  other  suns  !  " 

"  Hark  !  "  I  cried,  "  we  are  hailed." 

"  Hailed  ? "  he  echoed  in  a  whisper. 

We  listened.  A  figure  came  out  of  the  darkness  forward 
and  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  There's  something  hard  by,  hailing 
us."  Greaves  and  I  went  to  either  rail,  and  searched  the  thick 
and  silent  darkness,  over  which  hovered  a  faint  star  or  two, 
pale  and  dying.  I  strained  my  ears.  I  could  hear  no  sound 
of  oars,  not  the  least  noise  of  any  kind  to  tell  that  a  vessel  was 
near  us.  I  looked  for  a  sparkle  of  phosphorus,  for  any  blue 
or  white  gleam  of  sea-glow,  such  as  the  stroke  of  an  oar, 
whether  muffled  or  not,  will  chip  out  of  the  water  in  those  parts. 
Tlie  hail  was  repeated.  It  was  the  same  hail  I  had  before 
heard.  It  sounded  like  "  Ship  there  !  "  and  seemed  to  proceed 
out  of  the  blackness  over  the  larboard  bow. 

Galloon  barked  sharply  and  furiously. 


A   MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  133 

"  Silence,  you  scoundrel !  "  hissed  Greaves  at  the  dear  old 
brute,  and  the  dog  instantly  ceased  to  bark.  "  Do  you  see 
anything.  Fielding?" 

"  Nothing,  sir,"  I  answered,  crossing  the  deck.  "  The  cry 
seemed  to  me  to  come  from  off  the  water  on  the  larboard  bow, 
and  if  it  is  our  friend  of  to-day  or  any  other  ship,  she  is  there." 

He  went  forward  and  I  lost  his  figure  in  the  blackness. 

All  hands  were  now  wide  awake.  The  gloom  was  so  deep 
betwixt  the  rails  that  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  the  men,  but  I 
gathered  from  their  voices  that  they  were  moving  briskly  here 
and  there  to  look  over  the  side  and  to  peer  into  the  smoky 
gloom  over  the  bows.  I  went  right  aft,  and  first  from  one 
quarter  and  then  from  the  other  of  the  brig  I  stared  and 
hearkened,  straining  my  vision  against  the  blackness  till  my 
eyeballs  ached,  straining  my  hearing  against  the  incommuni- 
cable hush  upon  the  ocean  until  1  felt  deaf  with  the  sound  of 
the  beat  of  the  pulse  in  my  ear.  Oh,  it  was  such  a  night  of 
wonderful  silence  that,  had  the  full  moon  been  overhead,  the 
imagination  might  have  heard  the  low  thunder  of  the  orb  as  it 
wheeled  through  space 

Greaves  arrived  aft. 

"Is  that  you,  Fielding?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"I  can  see  nothing,  and  the  sea  is  as  silent  as  a  graveyard 
o'  night.  Is  that  hail  some  piratic  trick  ?  I  tell  you  what :  the 
words  might  have  been  English,  but  they  were  not  delivered 
by  an  English  throat.  I  shall  make  no  answer.  There  is  noth- 
ing to  be  done  but  to  watch  for  fire  in  the  water  ;  should  it  show, 
to  hail  the7i,  and  to  let  fly  if  the  answer  is  not  to  our  liking." 

He  called  for  Yan  Bol.  The  Dutchman's  deep  voice  re- 
sponded, but  even  while  he  approached  us  the  hail  was 
repeated. 

"  There  again  !  "  cried  I. 

"  Was  it  in  English  ?"  said  Greaves. 

"  It  was  'ship  ahoy,'  sir,  very  plain  indeed,  but  thin,  more 
distant  than  before,  I  fancy,  and  still  off  the  larboard  bow." 

At  this  instant  there  was  a  great  commotion  forward  ;  I 
heard  laughter,  the  cackling  of  affrighted  cocks  and  hens, 
followed  by  a  shout  in  the  voice  of  the  boy  Jimmy  : 

"  Here's  the  chap  as  has  been  a-hailing,  master." 

A  singular  noise  of  the  beating  of  wings  approached  us,  and  I 
iiscerned  the  figure  of  the  boy  Jimmy,  as  he  stood  before  us 
grasping  something. 


134  .  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  Shall  I  wring  un's  neck,  master  ? "  he  cried,  with  a  note 
of  idiotic  mirth  in  his  voice. 

"  What  the  devil  is  all  this  about  ? "  shouted  Greaves. 
"What  have  you  there?" 

"  The  big  Chaney  cock  with  the  croup,  master,"  answered 
the  boy. 

I  burst  into  a  laugh,  but  a  laugh  that,  perhaps,  was  not  want- 
ing in  a  little  touch  of  hysteria,  so  poignant  was  the  feeling  of 
relief  after  the  deep  uneasiness  of  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour. 
The  men,  heedless  of  the  discipline  of  the  vessel,  had  come 
pressing  aft  in  the  wake  of  the  boy,  and  forward  there  con- 
tinued a  wild  concert  of  cocks  and  hens  cackling  furiously. 

"Fetch  a  lantern,  one  of  you,"  bawled  Greaves  ;  "curse  that 
poultry  !  Who  started  them  all  ?  That  row's  as  bad  as  a  flare 
if  there's  anything  near  on  the  lookout  for  us." 

A  lantern  was  brought  and  the  glare  of  it  disclosed  the  tall, 
muscular,  knockkneed  form  of  the  youth  Jimmy,  grasping  by 
the  neck  a  huge,  long-legged,  ostrich-shaped  cock,  of  the  kind 
known  as  Cochin  China.  The  faces  of  the  seamen  crowding 
aft  to  hear  and  see  showed  past  him  in  phantom  countenances, 
contorted  out  of  all  resemblance  to  themselves  by  their  grins 
and  stare  of  expectation,  and  by  the  dim  light  that  touched 
them,  and  by  the  deep  darkness  behind  them. 

"What  have  you  got  there?"  cried  Greaves. 

"  It's  the  big  cock,  master.  He's  croupy,"  answered  the 
lad  in  his  imbecile  voice,  continuing  to  grasp  the  fowl  so  tightly 
by  the  neck  that,  croup  or  no  croup,  the  thing  hung  silent, 
as  though  dead,  save  that  now  and  again  it  would  give  an  un- 
easy, sick,  protesting  flap  of  its  wings.  "  He  wasn't  well  this 
arternoon,  master.  I  was  passing  the  coop,  when  I  heard  him 
sing  out,  '  Ship  ahoy  !  '  and  I  stopped  to  listen,  and  he  sung 
out,  '  Ship  ahoy  ! '  again.  He  was  standing  on  one  leg  and  the 
skin  of  his  eyes  was  half  dravved  down,  and  I  speaks  to  the 
cook  about  him,  who  tells  me  to  go  and  be  d d." 

"  He  gooms,  captain,  vhen  I  vhas  busy  mit  der  crew's  supper  ; 
I  had  shcalded  myself.  No  vender  I  spheaks  short,"  ex- 
claimed the  voice  of  the  cook  among  the  crowd  behind  the 
lad. 

"  Bear  a  hand  with  your  yarn,  Jimmy  !  "   cried  Greaves. 

"  Well,  master,  when  I  hears  that  we  was  hailed,  I  came  out 
of  the  bows,  where  I  was  lying  down,  and  I  listened,  and  I 
hears  nothing  ;  but  by  and  by  the  hail  comes,  and  I  says  to 
myself,  '  Aint  I  heard  that  woice  before  ? '  and  I  stands  listen- 


A   MIDNIGHT  SCARE.  .     13$ 

ing  till  it  sounds  again.  '  It's  old  Chaney,'  says  I,  and  steps 
aft  to  the  hen-coop,  knowing  in  what  part  he  lodges,  and  here 
he  is,  master.     Shall  I  wring  un's  neck?  " 

"Cook,"  exclaimed  Greaves,  "take  that  cock  from  Jimmy 
and  put  it  back  in  its  coop.  Go  forward,  men,  but  keep  your 
eyes  lifting  till  this  thickness  slackens.  That  hail  may  have 
come  from  a  cock  with  the  croup,  as  the  lad  says,  but  all  the 
same,  be  vigilant  till  we  can  use  our  eyes.  There  may  be  some- 
thing damnably  close  aboard  even  while  I'm  talking." 

The  men  answered  variously  in  their  gruff  voices,  and  the 
mob  of  them  rolled  forward  and  vanished  in  the  deep  obscurity. 
The  lantern  which  had  been  brought  on  deck  was  again  taken 
below,  and  all  now  being  silent  fore  and  aft,  Greaves  and  I  lay 
over  the  side,  listening  and  straining  our  sight  into  the  murkiness  ; 
but  not  a  sound  came  off  the  sea.  No  sparkle  anywhere  showed 
the  life  of  a  lifted  blade  ;  no  deeper  dye  of  ink  indicated  the 
presence  of  anything  betwixt  us  and  the  horizon. 

For  an  hour  Greaves  and  I  patrolled  the  deck,  talking  over 
the  cock  with  the  croup,  over  false  alarms  at  sea  ;  taking  about 
the  preternatural  hush  and  sepulchral  repose  of  the  night  ;  and 
then  we  talked  of  the  voyage,  of  the  island,  of  the  ship  in  the 
cave  ;  and  on  such  matters  did  we  discourse.  And  while  we 
were  conversing — an  hour  having  passed  since  the  incident  of  the 
croupy  cock — we  heard  afar  the  tinkling  and  musical,  foun- 
tain-like rippling  of  water  brushed  by  wind,  and  a  few  minutes 
later,  a  pleasant  breeze  was  cooling  our  cheeks,  steadying  our 
canvas,  and  propelling  the  brig,  whose  wake,  as  it  streamed 
from  her,  trailed  like  a  riband  of  yellow  fire,  while  the  wire- 
like lines  which  broke  from  her  bows  shone,  as  though  at  white 
heat,  with  the  beautiful  glow  of  the  sea.  The  wind  polished 
the  stars  and  cleansed  the  atmosphere  till  you  could  see  to  the 
gloomy  line  of  the  horizon.  By  midnight  the  moon  was  shin- 
ing, the  heavens  were  a  deep  blue,  and  Greaves  had  gone  be- 
low, satisfied  that  the  brig  was  the  only  object  in  sight  within 
the  whole  visible  compass  of  the  deep. 

Though  it  had  been  Yan  Bol's  watch  from  twelve  to  eight, 
yet,  while  the  captain  and  I  remained  aft,  he  had  kept  for- 
ward. Now  that  Greaves  had  gone  below,  and  my  watch 
would  be  coming  round  shortly,  Yan  Bol  came  along  to  the 
quarter-deck. 

"  She  vhas  an  oneasy  time,  Mr.  Fielding,"  he  exclaimed  in 
his  trembling,  deep  voice,  that  made  one  think  of  thunder 
heard  in  a  vault. 


136  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

"It  was,"  said  I  ;  "but  the  sea  is  clear,  and  there's  an  end 
to  the  trouble." 

"  We  should  hov  fought,  by  Cott,"  said  he,  "had  der  needt 
arose.  Ve  did  not  like  dot  dis  voyage  should  be  stopped  by  a 
bloydy  pirate.  It  vhas  strange,  Mr.  Fielding,  dot  der  cock 
should  cry  out  in  English." 

"  It  sounded  English,"  said  I. 

"  Oh,  she  vhas  goodt  English.  I  like,"  said  he,  broadly  grin- 
ning, "  dot  my  English  vhas  always  as  goodt.  She  vhas  an 
English  cock,  maype,  though  schipped  at  Amsterdam.  Had 
she  been  Dutch  she  vouldt  hov  spoke  my  language." 

At  this  moment  eight  bells — midnight — were  struck.  I 
thought  to  see  Yan  Bol  instantly  trudge  forward  with  the  alac- 
rity of  a  seaman  whose  watch  below  has  come  round,  but  he 
evinced  a  disposition  to  linger,  as  on  a  previous  occasion. 

"  I  likes  to  findt  a  ship  in  a  cave  full  of  dollars,  Mr.  Field- 
ing," said  he. 

"  There  is  a  very  great   deal  that  one  would  like,"   said  I. 

"  Sixty-von  tousand  dollar,"  he  continued,  "  vhas  a  goodt 
deal  of  money.  Dot  money  us  men  vill  take  oop.  Und  how 
much  vill  she  leave,  I  vender?" 

"  Eh  ?  "  said  I.  "Yes,  Bol,  that  will  be  a  matter  of  count- 
ing, won't  it  ?" 

"  I  like  to  know,  Mr.  Fielding,  vy  she  vhas  sixty-one  tousand 
dollar  ?  Vy  not  a  leedle  more  or  a  leedle  less,  or  much  more, 
or  some  tousands  less?  Dot'll  mean,"  he  continued  after  a 
pause,  during  which  I  remained  silent,  "  dot  dere  vhas  a  large 
share  ofer  und  aboove  der  sixty-one  tousand  dollar  ;  but  how 
vhas  us  men's  share  arrived  at  I  like  to  know  ?  " 

"  Why  do  you  not  ask  the  captain  ?  Why  do  you  ask  me 
these  questions?     I  am  not  the  captain." 

"  No,  dot  vhas  very  right.  But  you  hov  der  captain's  con- 
fidence ;  und  vy  do  I  ox,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  Because  der  cap- 
tain's yarn  is  vonderful "     He  broke  off,  looking  at  me  very 

earnestly. 

"  Do  you  distrust  the  story  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Hov  I  said  so,  hov  I  said  so,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  But  she  vhas 
vonderful  all  der  same." 

I  was  silent.  He  continued  to  look  at  me  for  some  moments 
in  a  dull  Dutch  way,  then,  seeming  to  check  some  observation 
he  was  about  to  make,  he  exclaimed: 

"  Veil,  der  coast  vhas  clear.  I  feel  like  sleeping.  Good- 
night, Mr.  Fielding." 


/  SEAW   MY  LETTER.  137 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

I   SEND    MY    LETTER. 

At  sunrise  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  the  schooner,  though 
a  seaman  was  sent  on  to  the  main  royal  yard  with  a  telescope, 
where  he  swept  the  sea  in  all  directions. 

We  crossed  the  equator  before  noon  and  drove  into  the 
South  Atlantic,  with  a  pleasant  breeze  of  wind  out  of  the  east. 
A  day-  or  two  of  such  sailing  would  send  us  clear  of  the  zone 
of  calms  and  catspaws,  and  then,  with  the  southeast  trade  wind 
strong  on  the  larboard  bow,  the  yards  braced  forward,  the 
blue  seas  breaking  in  foam  from  the  sides,  we  might  hope  for  a 
smart  run  southwest,  with  weather  enough  to  follow  to  bring 
that  wonderful  island  of  Greaves  within  reach  of  a  few  days  of 
us,  instead  of  a  few  months  of  us,  as  it  had  been  and  still  was. 

I  considered  very  seriously  whether  I  should  repeat  to  the 
captain  my  brief  conversation  with  Yan  Bol — that  chat,  I 
mean,  which  I  have  related  at  the  end  of  the  last  chapter. 
For  my  own  part  I  could  not  comfortably  settle  my  views  of 
Yan  Bol,  yet  I  saw  nothing  to  object  to  in  the  man.  Nothing 
could  I  recollect  him  saying  of  a  kind  to  excite  misgiving. 
Though  he  was  acting  as  second  mate,  he  associated  with  the 
seamen  as  one  of  them,  slept  and  ate  with  them  in  their  fore- 
castle, and  yet  had  their  respect.  This  I  observed  and  thought 
well  of.  He  was  a  bold  and  hearty  seaman — a  practical  sailor. 
Of  navigation  he  knew  nothing;  indeed,  he  once  owned  that 
he  could  never  understand  how  it  happened  that  the  progress 
of  a  ship  altered  time;  the  reason,  he  said,  had  beeia  explained 
to  him  on  several  occasions,  but  it  was  all  the  same — it  was  a 
mystery  "und  it  vhas  vonderful  dot  any  man  vhas  born  mit 
brains  to  understand  him." 

And  yet  I  could  not  arrive  at  any  conclusion  to  satisfy  me. 
"Am  I  influenced  almost  unconsciously  against  him,"  thought 
I,  "by  his  Dutch  airs  and  graces?  Am  I  moved  to  an  inward, 
secret  dislike  by  a  certain  freedom  of  speech  and  accost,  by  a 
sort  of  familiarity  I  have  noticed  among  Germans,  and  thought 
particularly  detestable  in  Germans  ?"  though  I  had  heretofore 
found  such  Dutchmen  as  I  had  encountered  too  stodgv  and 
stolid,  too  insipid  and  inexpressive,  too  torpid  in  mind  and 
laborious  in  perception  to  be  readily  capable  of  vexing  one  by 
that  kind  of  freedom  and  easiness  of  address  and  bearing  which 
makes  you  thirsty  to  kick  the  beast  whose  burden  it  is.     No,  I 


138  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

could  not  trace  my  doubts  of  Yan  Bol  to  my  dislike  of  his 
behavior  to  me.  Indeed,  I  could  not  trace  any  doubts  at  all. 
And  yet  I  never  thought  of  him  quite  comfortably.  If 
Greaves'  dollar-ship  was  no  vision  of  his  slumbers,  if  Greaves' 
chests  of  milled  silver  were  veritably  aboard  La  Perfecta 
Casada  in  the  cave  he  had  described,  then  we  should  be  a  rich 
brig  when  we  set  sail  from  the  island;  we  should  need  an  hon- 
est crew  to  carry  us  safely  home.  Was  Yan  Bol  honest?  If  a 
doubt  of  him  arose  he  was  the  one  man  of  the  whole  ship's 
company  whom  it  would  be  Greaves'  policy  to  get  rid  of  as 
soon  as  possible,  because  he  was  the  one  man  of  all  our  little 
ship's  company  the  most  capable,  should  he  take  the  trouble 
to  exert  himself,  of  obtaining  an  ascendancy  over  his  mates, 
and  of  directing  them  for  good  or  ill  as  he  decided. 

These  being  my  thoughts  1  resolved  to  repeat  to  Greaves  the 
questions  which  Bol  had  put  to  me  touching  the  money  in  the 
island  ship.     He  listened  to  me  anxiously  and  attentively. 

"I  hope  that  man  will  not  go  wrong,"  said  he,  when  I  had 
concluded;   "I  like  him." 

"He  is  a  good  man  in  the  forecastle-sense  of  the  word,"  I 
answered. 

"I  like  him,"  he  repeated.  "He  controls  his  mates;  he  is 
the  sort  of  man  to  keep  them  straight  if  he  chooses,  and  I  am 
almost  resolved  to  make  him  choose,  by  promising  him  a  hand- 
somer share  than  his  bond  states — not  at  the  expense  of  the 
crew,  no;  but  by  drawing  on  my  own  and  the  ship's  share. 
Tulp  must  do  what  I  want  when  I  plan  for  the  interests  of  all." 

"That  is  a  hammer  to  drive  the  nail  home,"  said  I,  "for 
this  has  to  Ije  considered,  captain ;  your  cases  of  dollars  will 
be  handed  over  the  side.  The  men  are  not  fools;  they  will 
count  them  and  roughly  calculate  the  value  of  every  case.  As 
we  sail  home  there  will  be  much  talk  forward.  The  amount  of 
money  on  board  will,  of  course,  be  exaggerated.  Bol  will  say, 
'I  am  second  mate  and  boatswain,  and  my  share  is  to  come  out 
of  sixty-one  thousand  dollars,  eleven  sharing.  How  much 
does  the  Englishman  get,  the  stranger  that  did  not  sail  with 
us  from  Amsterdam,  who  is  merely  a  shipwrecked  man,  and 
not  one  of  us?'  He  will  wish  to  know  how  much,  and  he  may 
breed  trouble  if  he  docs  not  learn  how  mucli.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  he  gets  the  truth  and  compares  it  with  Jds  share " 

"All  this  has  been  in  my  head.  I  will  confirm  him  in  such 
honesty  as  he  has  by  a  written  undertaking  to  pay  him  more 
dollars."     He  added,  after  thinking  a  little  while,  "I  wish  he 


/  SEND  MY  LETTER.  139 

had  not  asked  you  those  questions.  But  the  fellow  may  doubt 
ray  story.  All  hands  may  doubt  it."  He  gazed  at  me  signifi- 
cantly for  a  moment,  and  continued:  "He  might  have  hoped 
to  get  you  to  tell  him  something  that  he  could  repeat  to  the 
others,  and  that  would  hearten  'em.  Should  he  question  you 
again,  encourage  him  to  talk." 

"Very  good,  sir." 

"You  are  not  to  know  the  value  of  the  freight  of  dollars." 

"I  will  know  nothing  when  I  converse  with  him." 

"But  I  shall  want  you' to  persuade  him  that  my  yarn  is 
true,"  said  he  with  a  faint  smile,  but  with  a  gleam  in  his  eyes 
Avhich  neutralized  that  weak  expression  of  good  humor. 

The  relations  between  the  master  and  the  mate — between 
the  captain  and  the  lieutenant — instantly  made  themselves  felt 
by  me.     I  looked  him  in  the  face  awaiting  instruction. 

"You  will  be  able  to  convince  him  that  my  yarn  is  true," 
said  he. 

"He  has  all  the  reasons  which  I  have  for  believing  it." 

"Do  you  believe  it?" 

"Why,  yes!  Mynheer  Tulp's  promotion  of  this  voyage  is  all 
the  proof  that  one  wants." 

He  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  deck,  and  a  light  smile  twitched 
his  lips.  When  he  next  spoke  it  was  to  ask  me  some  question 
that  had  no  relation  to  the  subject  we  had  been  conversing 
upon. 

After  this  I  created  opportunities  for  Van  Bol  to  question 
me.  I  lingered  when  he  came  on  deck  to  relieve  me.  I 
sought  to  coax  him  into  asking  about  the  ship  in  the  cavern,  by 
loitering  in  his  company  instead  of  at  once  going  below,  and 
by  speaking  of  the  voyage,  of  the  Galapagos  Islands,  of  the 
uncharted  island  to  which  we  were  bound;  but  his  mind 
appeared  to  have  suddenly  and  completely  turned  round;  what 
was  before  an  eager,  was  now  a  blank  countenance;  indeed, 
he  would  look  at  me  suspiciously  when  I  talked  of  the  voyage 
and  the  dollar-ship  as  though  I  had  a  stratagem  in  my  head 
which  must  oblige  him  to  mind  his  eye.  Thereupon  I  ceased 
to  trouble  myself  to  attempt  to  convince  Yan  Bol  that  the 
captain's  story  was  true,  and  that  our  errand  was  as  real  as 
a  silver  dollar  itself  is;  and  it  was  as  well,  perhaps,  that  this 
Dutchman  found  me  no  occasion  to  tax  my  wits  by  the  inven- 
tion of  proofs  for  what  I  could  by  no  means  prove  to  myself. 
I  did  not  like  Greaves'  looks  when  he  talked  of  his  dollar- 
ship;  I  did  not  understand  his  half-smiles  at  such  times;  I  was 


14°  LIST,    YE    LANDSMEN! 

puzzled  by  the  dreamy  expression  of  his  eye,  and  by  the  light 
that  had  kindled  in  his  gaze  when  he  asked  me,  with  an 
unspoken  doubt  behind  his  words,  to  convince  Yan  Bol 
that  his  story  was  true,  in  order  that  the  crew  might  be  sat- 
isfied. 

It  was  a  few  days  after  my  chat  with  him  about  the  Dutch 
boatswain's  questions  that  he  asked  me  if  I  had  succeeded  in 
satisfying  the  fellow  that  there  was  a  vessel,  with  a  lazarette 
full  of  dollars,  locked  up  in  an  island  off  the  Western  American 
coast?  I  told  him  that  the  man  had  bouted  ship  and  was  on 
the  other  tack  now;  that  he  shifted  his  helm  when  I  ap- 
proached him,  exhibited  no  further  curiosity,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, shrunk  from  the  subject  as  though  it  vexed  him.  He 
made,  or  seemed  to  make,  little  of  this.  But  that  same  even- 
ing, when  I  was  sitting  at  supper  with  him,  he  said : 

"Yan  Bol  will  go  to  the  devil  for  me  now.  I  walked  with 
him  for  an  hour  this  afternoon,  while  you  were  below.  He 
was  frank.  I  like  him  none  the  less  for  being  frank.  He  is  a 
bit  jealous  of  you.  Mind  ye,  he  said  not  one  word  against 
you.  Fielding,  not  a  syllable — though  at  the  first  syllable  I 
should  have  brought  him  up,  all  standing.  But  the  spirit  of 
jealousy  was  strong  in  his  remarks;  it  smelt  in  his  words  like 
a  dram  in  a  man's  breath.  'Tis  natural.  You  are  an  Eng- 
lishman— he  is  a  darned  Dutchman.  You  came  aboard 
through  the  cabin  window,  and  his  countryman.  Van  Laar, 
goes  out  as  you  walk  in.  But  a  plague  upon  forecastle  pas- 
sions! He  was  frank,  as  I  have  said,  and  told  me  that  he  had 
some  doubts  of  the  truth  of  my  story,  and  that  the  rest  of  the 
men  had  not  yet  made  up  their  minds  about  it.  'And  what 
the  deuce, '  said  I, '  is  it  to  you  or  to  the  men  whether  my  story 
be  true  or  false?  You  were  engaged  for  the  voyage.  'It  was 
a  question  of  wages  with  you,  and  your  wages  will  be  paid.' 
'Dot  vhas  right,'  said  this  Dutchman.  But  I  talked  of  the 
Casada^  nevertheless,  described  her  in  the  cave,  gave  him,  in 
short,  the  story  of  my  discovery  that  it  might  go  the  rounds 
forward;  and  then  I  told  him  that  I  liad  made  up  my  mind  to 
increase  his  share  of  the  booty;  his.  share  of  the  sixty-one 
thousand  dollars,  I  said,  was  to  be  according  to  his  rating, 
which  was  the  highest  next  yours;  but  I  added  that  if  he  chose 
to  work  with  a  will  and  aid  me' and  you  to  the  utmost  to  carry 
this  brig  in  safety  to  the  Downs,  I  would  give  him  a  written 
undertaking  to  pay  him  a  percentage  on  the  whole  value  of  the 
propertv,  which  sum  would  be  over  and  above  what  he  would 


/  SEND   MY  LETTER.  141 

receive  in  money  as  wages  and  as  his  share  in  the  sixty-one 
thousand  dollars." 

"What  did  he  say  to  that,  sir?" 

"He  smiled,  he  thanked  me,  he  let  fall  several  Dutch  words, 
swore  that  I  was  the  finest  captain  that  he  had  ever  sailed 
under,  and  that  his  earnings  out  of  this  voyage  would  set  him 
up  for  life  in  his  native  town.  He  was  a  fairly  trustworthy 
fellow  before.  He  is  as  honest  now  as  is  to  be  reasonably 
expected  of  human  flesh.  I  am  satisfied ;  and  you  need  give 
yourself  no  further  trouble,  Fielding,  to  convince  him  that  my 
story  is  true." 

Well,  thought  I,  this,  no  doubt,  is  as  it  should  be,  though  it 
seemed  to  me  that  Greaves  was  making  too  much  of  Yan  Bol, 
too  much  of  his  own  anxieties,  indeed,  sinking  the  skipper  in 
the  adventurer,  and  a  little  heedless  of  Nelson's  axiom  that  at 
sea  much  must  be  left  to  chance.  If,  thought  I,  he  is  cocksure 
that  his  ship  and  her  dollars  are  where  he  says  he  beheld  them, 
then  how  can  it  matter  to  him  one  jot  whether  his  crew  believe 
in  his  story  or  not?  But  conjecture  and  speculations  of  this 
sort  were  to  no  purpose.  In  a  few  weeks  the  problem  would 
be  solved;  either  the  money  would  be  aboard,  or  we  should 
have  found  the  ship  broken  up  and  everything  gone  out  of  her 
to  the  bottom — to  such  bottom  as  she  rested  upon,  twenty  or 
thirty  feet,  maybe,  but  as  unsearchable  to  us,  without  diving 
equipment,  as  the  floor  of  the  mid- Atlantic;  or  we  should  have 
discovered  that  there  v/as  no  ship  and  no  island,  and  that  ours 
had  been  the  expedition  of  a  dream.  And  still  no  matter,  I 
would  think.  There  are  wages  to  be  pocketed  in  the  end,  and 
I  can  only  be  worse  off  then  by  being  so  many  months  older 
than  I  was  when  I  was  fished  up  out  of  the  Channel  by  the 
people  of  the  brig. 

The  letter  I  had  written  to  my  uncle  Captain  Round,  when 
I  agreed  to  sail  in  the  Black  Watch  in  the  room  of  Van  Laar,  I 
had  not  yet  been  able  to  send.  I  forgot  all  about  that  letter 
when  I  went  aboard  Tarbrick's  ship  to  arrange  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  Dutch  mate,  and  I  had  not  witnessed  in  the  little 
Rebecca,  with  her  two  of  a  crew,  a  very  likely  opportunity  for 
communicating  with  Uncle  Joe.  But  when  we  were  some- 
where about  six  degrees  south  we  fell  in  with  a  large  snow  home- 
ward bound.  She  was  from  round  the  Horn  and  proceeding 
direct  to  the  Thames.  I  had  several  selfish  as  well  as  respect- 
able and  honorable  motives  for  desiring  to  send  the  news  of  my 
being  alive  to  my  uncle,  not  to  mention  the  pleasure  it  would 


142  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

give  him  and  my  aunt  and  cousin  to  learn  that  I  was  alive ;  I 
was  down  in  his  will  for  what  you  might  call  a  trifle,  but  such 
a  trifle  as  would  prove  very  acceptable  to  me  should  it  come 
to  my  having  to  continue  the  sea  life  for  a  living.  There  were 
other  reasons  why  I  desired  that  my  uncle  should  know  that  I 
was  alive,  and  let  the  one  I  have  given  suffice. 

Our  meeting  with  that  snow  was  rendered  memorable  by  a 
phenomenal  caprice  of  wind.  It  was  blowing  a  light  breeze 
off  our  starboard  bow;  the  hour  was  about  two,  the  sky  was 
like  a  sheet  of  pale  blue  silver,  here  and  there  shaded  wath 
curls  and  plumes  and  streamers  of  high-floating  yellow-colored 
cloud.  There  was  wind  enough  to  keep  the  ocean  trembling, . 
but  at  intervals,  and  at  fairly  regular  intervals,  there  ran  north 
and  south  a  number  of  glassy  swathes,  oil-calm  paths  from  the 
remotest  of  the  northern  airy  reaches  to  the  most  distant  of 
the  recesses  of  the  south.  It  was  'my  watch  below  when  we 
sighted  the  sail;  I  had  dined.  It  was  soul-consumingly  hot  in 
the  cabin,  and  I  came  on  deck  to  smoke  a  pipe  and  lounge 
amid  the  brine-sweet  draughts  of  air,  and  in  the  pleasant 
shadows  cast  upon  the  white  and  glaring  planks  by  the 
quietly  breathing  sails.  Greaves  was  below\  Presently  Yan 
Bol,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  brig,  approached  me.  I  had 
watched  him  staring  at  the  approaching  vessel  through  the 
ship's  telescope,  his  vast  chest  rising  and  falling  under  his 
extended  arms,  which,  clothed  as  he  w^ent — in  pilot  cloth, 
though  the  sun  made  him  no  shadow — looked  as  big  as 
the  thighs  of  an  ordinary  man.  He  approached  me  and 
said: 

"Mr.  Fielding,  didt  you  belief  in  impossibilities?" 

"No,  Bol,  I  don't;  do  you?" 

"By  de  tunder  of  Cott,  den,  I  shall  for  effermore  after  dis, 
onless,  indeedt,  I  hov  lost  der  eyes  I  schipped  mit  at  Amster- 
dam." 

"What's  the  matter?"   said  I. 

"Coom  dis  vay,  Mr.  Fielding,  und  you  see  for  yourself." 

He  crossed  the  deck.  I  followed  him.  He  put  the  tele- 
scope into  my  hands  and  leveled  a  square  fat  forefinger  at  the 
sail  that  was  now  at  no  great  distance.  I  viewed  the  vessel 
through  the  glass,  but  saw  nothing  remarkable.  She  w^as  a 
motherly  tub  of  a  ship,  with  big  topsails  and  short  topgallant 
masts,  and  a  cnsk-like  roll  in  the  sway  of  her  whole  fabric  as 
the  silver  blue  undulations  took  her. 

"Well,  what  is  there  to  see?" 


/  SEND  MY  LETTER.  143 

"Tunder  of  God?"  cried  he  in  Dutch.  "Lok,  Mr.  Field- 
ing, how  her  yards  vhas  braced." 

And  now,  indeed,  I  beheld  what  Jack  might  fairly  call  a 
miraculous  sight.  The  wind,  as  I  have  said,  was  off  our  star- 
board bow,  and  we  were,  therefore,  braced  up  on  what  is 
termed  the  starboard  tack;  but  the  stranger  that  was  coming 
along  was  also  braced  up  on  the  starboard  tack,  showing  that 
she,  like  ourselves,  had  the  wind  on  her  starboard  bow.  For 
what  did  our  two  postures  signify?  This — that  the  wind  with 
us  was  directly  west-southwest,  while  the  wind  with  the  stran- 
ger was  directly  east-northeast.  Here,  then,  were  two  vessels 
within  a  couple  of  miles  of  each  other,  so  heading  that  one  would 
pass  the  other  within  a  biscuit-toss ;  here,  I  say,  were  two  ves- 
sels steering  in  exactly  opposite  directions,  but  each  braced  up 
on  the  same  tack,  and  each  with  the  wind  off  the  same  bow! 

"May  der  toyfell  seize  me  if  I  like  him!"  exclaimed  Bol, 
looking  aloft  at  our  canvas  and  then  around  the  sea. 

The  sailors  at  work  about  the  deck  stared  aloft  and  then  at 
the  approaching  ship.  They  bit  hard  upon  the  tobacco  in  their 
cheeks.  One  of  the  Dutclimen  called  to  an  English  seaman  in 
the  fore  rigging: 

"Dis  vhas  der  ocean  of  Kingdom  Coom.  Der  anchells  vhas 
not  far  off  vhen  efery  schip  hov  a  vindt  for  himself." 

The  English  sailor,  with  an  uneasy  motion  of  his  body, 
swang  off  the  rigging  to  spit  clear  into  the  sea. 

"Arter  this,  mate,"  he  called  down  to  the  Dutchman,  "I 
shall  give  up  drinking  water  when  I  gets  ashore." 

I  looked  into  the  cabin  skylight,  and,  seeing  Greaves  at  the 
table,  begged  him  to  step  on  deck  and  behold  a  strange  sight. 
By  this  time  both  vessels  had  hoisted  their  ensigns,  and  each 
flag  blew  in  an  opposite  direction. 

"I  have  heard  of  this  sort  of  thing,"  said  Greaves,  "but 
never  before  saw  it.  Lord,  now,  if  every  ship  could  have  a 
wind  of  her  own,  as  Ave  and  yonder  craft  have!  There  would 
be  no  weather  gauge  then — no  complicated  dodging  for  advan- 
tageous positions.  Ha!  Look  at  that  now.  She  has  taken 
our  wind!" 

The  sails  of  the  approaching  vessel  fell  and  trembled.  A 
minute  later  the  yards  were  slowly  swung,  and  the  canvas 
shone  like  white  satin  as  it  swelled  to  the  same  breeze  that  was 
breathing  off  our  bow. 

"I  should  be  glad  to  send  my  letter  home  by  that  ship," 
said  L 


144  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"It  may  be  managed,"  he  exclaimed,  "and  without  bother- 
ing to  back  yards  or  lower  a  boat.     Get  your  letter." 

I  ran  to  my  berth  and  returned  with  the  letter,  which 
Greaves  posted  for  me  on  the  passing  ship  in  the  following 
manner: 

He  sent  me  to  procure  a  piece  of  canvas,  a  small  number  of 
musket  balls,  some  twine,  and  an  end  of  ratlin  stuff.  He  put 
the  balls  and  my  letter  into  the  canvas,  and,  with  the  twine, 
bound  the  cloth  into  a  small,  heavy  parcel,  to  which  he  secured 
the  end  of  the  piece  of  ratlin  stuff;  then,  giving  directions  to 
the  man  at  the  helm  to  starboard,  so  as  to  close  the  stranger, . 
he  sprung  upon  the  rail  and  waited  for  the  two  vessels  to  draw 
together. 

"Oh,  the  snow  ahoy!"  he  shouted. 

"Hallo!"  responded  a  man  who  stood  on  the  quarter  of  the 
vessel. 

"Where  are  you  bound  to?" 

"London." 

"Will  you  take  a  letter  for  me?" 

The  man  motioned  assent  and  looked  aloft,  as  though  about 
to  order  his  topsail  to  be  backed.  "I  v^'ill  chuck  the  letter 
aboard,"  said  Greaves,  swinging  the  parcel  by  its  line,  that  the 
man  might  guess  what  he  intended  to  do.  "Stand  by  to 
receive  it!" 

Again  the  fellow,  who  was,  probably  the  captain,  motioned; 
and  then,  waiting  until  the  two  craft  were  abreast.  Greaves, 
with  a  dexterous  swing  of  his  arm,  sent  the  parcel  flying 
through  the  air.  It  fell  on  the  deck  of  the  passing  vessel  just 
abaft  her  mainmast.  The  fellow  who  had  answered  Greaves* 
hail,  running  forward,  picked  it  up,  and  held  it  high  in  his 
hand  that  we  might  see  he  had  it.  After  this  there  was  no 
opportunity  for  further  communication;  for  scarce  were  the 
two  vessels  abreast  when  they  were  on  each  other's  quarter, 
rapidly  sliding  a  widening  interval  betwixt  their  sterns. 

The  snow  was  the  Lady  Godiva.  I  read  her  name  under  her 
counter.  But  her  being  bound  to  London,  now  that  my  letter 
was  aboard,  was  information  enough  about  her  to  answer  my 
turn. 

From  this  date  down  to  the  period  of  our  arrival  off  the  west 
coast  of  South  America  my  clear  recollection  of  every  particu- 
lar of  this  voyage  yields  me  little  that  is  good  enough  to  record. 
Incidents  so  far  had  not  been  lacking,  but  south  of  the  equator 
our  sea  life  grew  as  dull  as  ever  the  vocation  can  be  at  its  dull- 


/  SEND  MY  LETTER.  145 

est.  Heavens!  how  incommunicably  tedious  is  the  mechanic 
round  of  shipboard  days!  Wonderful  to  me  is  it  that  sailors 
in  those  times,  when  a  single  passage  kept  them  afloat  for 
months,  remained  human.  And  less  than  human  some  of 
them  were,  I  am  bound  to  say.  Think  of  their  lodging — a 
small,  black  hole  in  the  bows  of  the  ship,  dimly  lighted  by  a 
lamp  fed  with  slush  skimmed  from  the  coppers  in  the  galley, 
no  fire  in  bitter  weather,  no  air  in  hot;  every  straining  timber 
sweating  brine  into  the  dark  interior,  till  the  floor  in  a  head- 
sea  was  a-wash ;  till  every  blanket  was  like  a  newly  wrung  out 
swab;  till  there  was  not  a  dry  rag  in  the  hole  of  a  living  room 
to  enable  the  poor  devils  to  shift  themselves  withal.  Think  of 
their  food — salted  meat,  out  of  which  they  could  have  sawn 
and  chiseled  blocks  for  reeving  gear  to  hoist  their  sails  with; 
biscuit  that  crawled  on  the  innumerable  legs  of  vermin,  alive 
but  unintelligent,  for  it  came  not  to  your  whistle  nor  did  it 
elude  your  grasp;  tea  from  which  the  thirstiest  of  the  fiery- 
eyed  rats  in  the  fore  peak  are  known  to  have  recoiled  with 
lamentable  squeaks  and  dying  shrieks  of  disappointment. 
Think  of  their  labor — the  scrubbing,  the  tarring,  the  greasing, 
the  furling  and  reefing  and  stitching,  the  kicks,  the  blows,  the 
curses  which  accompanied  the  toil.  Think  of  their  pleasures 
— an  inch  of  sooty  pipe  to  suck,  an  ancient  story  to  nod  over, 
a  song  at  long  intervals. 

Alas,  poor  Jack!  What  is  it  that  carries  thee  to  sea  in  the 
first  instance?  The  love  of  freedom?  Hie  thee  to  the  nearest 
jail;  there  is  more  freedom  in  it;  better  food,  kinder  words. 
The  desire  to  see  the  world?  What  dost  see  unless  thou  run- 
nest  from  thy  ship?  for  in  harbor  all  day  long  thou  art  sweat- 
ing in  the  hold  and  stamping  round  and  round  to  the  music  of 
the  pawls;  and  when  the  night  comes  and  thou  goest  ashore, 
if  thou  hast  a  shot  in  thy  locker  thou  gettest  drunk,  and  with 
whirling  brains  and  blistered  lips  art  thrust  rather  than  con- 
veyed to  thy  toil  in  the  morning  by  the  constable  whom  thy 
skipper  hath  sent  in  search  of  thee.  And  so  much,  therefore. 
Jack,  dost  thou  see  of  foreign  parts.  But  whatever  may  have 
been  the  cause  that  sent  thee  to  sea,  my  lad,  this  will  I  affirm  ; 
that  when  once  thou  art  afloat,  there  is  nothing  clothed  in  flesh, 
with  an  immortal  spirit  to  be  saved  or  damned,  more  deserving 
of  pity. 

But  though  we  were  a  dull,  we  were  a  comfortable  little 
ship.  I  never  heard  of  any  falling  out  among  the  crew. 
They  worked  well  together.     The  common  hope  of  the  dollar 


146  LIST,    YE  LAl^TDSMEN ! 

that  lay  on  t'other  side  the  Horn  was  strong  in  them.  It  kept 
them  well  meaning.  It  was  clear  they  all  had  full  confidence 
in  the  captain's  yarn,  and  their  spirits  danced  with  anticipation 
of  the  money  they  would  jingle  when  they  got  home — the 
money  in  wages  and  share  per  man.     This  I  used  to  think. 

They  made  much  of  their  dog  watches  when  the  weather 
was  fine.  One  of  the  Dutchmen  played  on  the  flute;  one  of 
the  Englishmen  had  a  fiddle.  The  fellows  would  save  their 
noon-tide  grog  for  a  dog  watch,  and  make  merry.  Yan  Bol 
sang  as  a  bull  roars,  but  his  singing  was  vastly  enjoyed.  Never 
did  any  mariner  better  dance  the  sailor's  hornpipe  than  the 
English  sailor,  Thomas  Teach.  He  went  through  it  grim  and 
unsmiling,  but  his  postures  were  full  of  that  sort  of  elegance 
which  is  the  gift  of  old  ocean  to  such  men  as  Teach.  It  is  old 
ocean  alone  that  can  animate  the  limbs  with  the  careless 
beauty  of  motion  that  Teach's  arms  and  legs  displayed  when 
he  danced  the  hornpipe. 

And  there  was  a  sailor  named  Harry  Call.  He  had  served 
in  American  ships,  and  knew  the  negro  character,  and  when 
he  blacked  his  face  he  was  good  entertainment.  Greaves  liked 
his  fooling  so  well  that  he  would  call  him  aft,  send  for  the 
men,  order  Jimmy  to  mix  a  can  of  grog,  and  Call  with  his 
spare  voice  and  negro  pleasantries  would  agreeably  kill  an  hour. 

My  own  life  was  as  pleasant  as  a  seafaring  life  can  very  well 
be.  Greaves  had  much  to  talk  about.  He  had  looked  into 
books.  He  had  traveled  widely  and  observed  closely.  He 
was  a  person  of  much  good  nature.  In  truth,  a  more  genial, 
informing  man  I  could  not  have  prayed  for  as  a  shipmate. 
Yet  I  would  take  notice  of  a  certain  haziness  on  one  side  of 
his  mind.  He  loved  metaphysical  speculations,  and  would 
wriggle  out  of  a  homely  topic  to  start  a  religious  discussion. 
I  humored  him  for  some  time,  but  religion  being  one  of  those 
subjects  that  I  did  not  much  care  to  talk  about,  I  soon  ceased 
to  argue,  and  then  all  the  talking  was  his.  He  entertained 
some  odd  notions  for  a  sailor,  believed  that  every  man  had 
a  good  and  bad  angel,  that  when  a  man  died  his  spirit  slept 
with  his  dust.  "Otherwise,"  he  asked,  "what  is  to  bring  the 
parts  together  again,  inform  them  with  mind,  and  render  the 
whole  sensible  of  what  is  haj)pening?"  I  found  that  he  had  a 
leaning  toward  the  Roman  Catholic  faith.  I  asked  him  if  he 
was  married.  He  answered  "No."  I  then  inquired  why  Van 
Laar  had  threatened  to  take  the  bed  from  under  him  and  his 
wife.      "To  vex  me,"  said  he. 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  147 

He  would  be  talking  of  religion  and  metaphysics,  of  dreams 
and  a  future  life,  of  the  state  of  his  soul  a  million  years  ago, 
and  of  the  inhabitants  of  certain  of  the  stars,  when  I  would  be 
thinking  of  his  ship  in  the  cave  and  the  dollars  aboard  of  her. 
But  as  our  voyage  progressed,  as  we  drove  southward  toward 
the  Horn,  he  found  little  or  nothing  to  say  about  his  ship  in 
the  cave.  You  would  have  said  he  was  done  with  the  subject. 
He  had  so  little  to  say,  indeed,  that  I  would  wonder  at  times 
whether  the  purpose  of  this  expedition  was  not  slipping  out  of 
his  memory  as  a  dream,  that  is  vital  and  brilliant  on  one's 
awaking  from  it,  fades  ere  nightfall,  and  is  effaced  by  the 
vision  of  another  slumber,  "It  will  be  a  confounded  disap- 
pointment should  it  prove  false  after  all,"  I  would  think;  for, 
spite  of  my  misgivings  which  sometimes  I  would  nourish  and 
sometimes  spurn,  I,  during  those  tedious  days  and  weeks  run- 
ning into  months,  I,  in  many  a  lonely  watch  on  deck,  in  many 
a  waking  hour  in  my  hammock,  had  built  my  little  castles  in 
the  air,  had  furnished  them  handsomely  for  one'of  my  degree, 
had  gazed  at  them  with  fondness  as  they  glittered  in  the  light 
of  my  hope.  Six  thousand  pounds!  The  money  was  a  bigger 
pile  in  those  days  than  it  is  now;  to  be  so  easily  earned  too! 
Why,  in  imagination  I  had  bought  me  a  little  house,  I  had 
married  a  wife,  I  was  gardening  often  in  mine  own  little  estate, 
and  every  quarter  I  was  receiving  dividend  warrants;  and  there 
was  good  ale  in  my  cellar,  and  no  stint  at  meal  times;  and  I 
was  a  happy  young  man,  in  imagination  sitting,  as  I  did,  on 
the  apex  of  that  pyramid  of  promised  dollars,  whence  I  com- 
manded a  boundless  prospect  for  a  mariner's  eye.  And  now 
if  it  was  all  to  end  in  a  hoaxing  dream!  Bless  me!  While  I 
was  on  this  side  of  the  Horn  how  I  pined  for  t'other  side,  how 
I-'thrashed  the  old  brig  through  it  in  my  watch  on  deck!  With 
what  ardor  of  expectancy  did  I  every  day  sit  down  to  work  out 
the  sights! 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    WHITE    WATER. 

The  Black  Watch  had  sailed  through  the  Downs  in  the 
middle  of  September,  and  on  the  morning  of  December  12, 
1814,  she  was  upon  the  meridian  of  Cape  Horn,  and  in  about 
fifty-seven  degrees  south  latitude.  This  passage,  for  so  swift 
a  keel,  was  a  long  one.  It  was  owing  to  diabolical  weather 
between  the  degrees  of  forty  and  fifty  south. 


14^  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Greaves  and  I  would  sometimes  say  that  the  devil  was  afloat 
in  a  craft  of  his  own  within  that  belt  of  ten  degrees.  Head 
winds  more  maddening  to  the  most  angelic  soul,  calms  more 
provocative  of  impious  and  affrighting  language,  it  is  not  in 
the  imagination  of  the  most  seasoned  mariner  to  conceive. 

But  enough.  We  were  off  the  Horn  at  last.  Our  bowsprit 
would  be  heading  north  presently,  and,  when  our  ship's  fore- 
foot cut  this  meridian  again,  the  little  fabric  would  (but  would 
she?)  be  deeper  in  the  water  (by  what  division  of  a  strake?) 
with  a  cargo  of  minted  silver! 

In  1 814  much  was  made  of  the  passage  of  the  Horn.  The 
doubling  of  that  bleak,  inhospitable,  deep-seated  rock  was 
accepted,  on  the  whole,  as  a  considerable  adventure.  The 
old  traditions  of  mountain-high  seas  and  gales  of  cyclonic  fury 
survived.  The  traffic  down  there  was  small;  the  colonies  of 
New  Holland  were  still  raw  in  their  making;  and  ships  bound 
for  Europe  from  that  distant  continent  chose  the  mild  but 
tedious  passage  of  the  South  African  headland. 

The  old  dread  has  vanished.  Experience  has  footed  preju- 
dice out  of  time.  In  furious  weather  the  ocean  off  the  Horn 
is  as  terrible  as  the  North  Atlantic,  as  the  Southern  Ocean,  as 
any  vast  breast  of  water  is  in  furious  weather;  and  that  is  the 
long  and  short  of  it.  Oh,  yes;  off  the  Horn  you  get  some 
monstrous  seas,  it  is  true.  I  have  known  what  it  is  to  be  run- 
ning off  the  Horn  before  a  westerly  gale  and  to  be  afraid — 
seasoned  as  I  then  was — to  look  astern  !  But  there  is  a  safety 
in  the  mighty  swing  of  those  wide  Andean  heaps  of  brine 
which  the  sharper-edged  surge  of  the  smaller  ocean  does  not 
yield. 

The  old  freebooters  and  the  early  navigators  are  responsible 
for  the  evil  reputation  of  the  Horn.  They  returned  from  the 
wonders  of  foreign  sight-seeing,  from  the  joys  of  plunder  and 
the  delights  of  discovery,  with  their  hearts  full  of  astonishment 
and  their  mouths  full  of  lies.  There  is  Shelvocke's  description 
of  the  Horn ;  it  is  heartrending  reading  in  these  days.  The 
ice  forms  upon  the  page  as  you  read;  the  atmosphere  darkens 
with  snow.  And  what,  on  the  testimony  of  such  a  record,  did 
VVapping  think  of  that  distant,  ice-girt,  howling  navigation, 
with  its  enchanted  islands  and  bergs,  whose  spires  seemed  to 
pink  the  moon?  What  did  Wapping  think  when  there  was 
never  a  man  in  every  company  of  a  thousand  jackets  who  had 
rounded  the  Horn  and  could  tell  of  it? 

We,  passing  the  Horn  on  December  12,  found  the  southern 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  U9 

hemisphere's  midsummer  there.  We  met,  for  the  most  part, 
with  bright  skies,  a  cheerful  sun,  not  wanting  in  warmth,  com- 
ing soon  and  going  late,  and  a  noble  field  of  swelling  blueseas. 
One  iceberg  we  sighted.  It  was  infinitely  remote — a  point  of 
pearl  on  the  sea-line. 

"She  vhas  like  a  babe's  milk  tooth,"  said  Yan  Bol,  pointing 
to  it. 

There  was  a  fancy  of  milk  in  the  whiteness  of  it;  but,  when 
I  brought  my  eyes  from  the  distant  berg  to  Bol's  face,  I  said 
unto  myself — "What  should  that  man  know  of  a  babe's  milk 
tooth?" 

Two  disappointments  await  those  who  round  the  Horn  with 
expectations  bred  of  the  reading  of  books.  First,  the  weather. 
Often  is  it  as  placid  as  any  quiet  day  that  sleeps  over  the 
vStraits  of  Dover,  when  the  sky  i^  streaked  with  the  lingering 
smoke  of  vanished  steamers  and  the  white  cliffs  of  France 
hang  in  the  air.  No;  the  weather  off  the  Horn  is  not  the 
everlasting  saddle  of  the  Storm  Fiend.  The  seas  are  not 
always  boiling,  the  hurricanes  of  wind  are  not  always  black 
with   frost,  heavy  w^ith  snow,  man-killing  with  ice-darts. 

Next,  the  constellation  called  the  Southern  Cross.  It  hangs 
over  you  when  you  are  off  the  Horn;  often  have  I  looked  up 
at  it,  and  never  have  I  thought  it  beautiful.  The  smallest  of 
the  gems  of  the  English  skies  is  a  richer  jewel  than  the  South- 
ern Cross.  A  singular  superstition  is  this  widespread  faith  in 
the  beauty  of  the  Crux  of  the  ancient  mariner.  The  stars  are 
unequally  set;  one  is  disproportionately  small. 

But  now  came  a  morning  when  we  struck  a  meridian  that 
enabled  us  to  shift  our  helm  for  a  nortlaern  passage,  and  tlien 
we  had  the  whole  length  of  the  mighty  seaboard  of  South 
America  to  climb.  We  were  in  the  South  Pacific  at  last.  The 
island  was  hard  upon  three  thousand  miles  distant;  but  it  was 
over  the  bows — it  was  ahead!  We  had  turned  the  stormy 
corner,  and  the  verification  of  Greaves'  yarn  could  be  thought 
of  as  something  that  was  about  to  happen  soon. 

Day  by  day  we  climbed  the  parallels,  and  all  went  well. 
Certain  stars  sank  behind  the  edge  of  the  sea  astern  of  us,  and 
as  we  sailed  northward  many  particular  stars  which  were  famil- 
iar to  our  northern  eyes  rose  over  the  bows  and  wheeled  in 
little  arcs,  We  made  some  westing  that  we  might  give  the 
land  a  wide  berth,  for  whether  Great  Britain  was  or  was  not  at 
war  with  Spain,  the  Spaniards  of  that  vast  seaboard  were 
scarcely   less   jealously    and    passionately  tenacious    in    those 


ISO  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

days  of  their  dominion  in  the  South  Sea,  and  under  the  Line  to 
beyond  Panama,  than  they  were  in  the  preceding  century;  and 
though  we  could  not  positively  affirm  that  there  was  anything 
to  be  afraid  of,  anything  curiously  and  sneakingly  dangerous 
to  be  shunned  (if  it  were  not  Commodore  Porter,  whose  ship 
\.\\t  Essex  was  believed  to  lie  prowling  hereabouts  at  this  time), 
yet  Greaves  was  determined  to  provide  his  bad  angel  with  the 
slenderest  possible  opportunity  for  delaying  or  arresting  the 
voyage  to  the  island. 

So  we  kept  well  out  to  the  west,  and  fine  sailing  it  was. 
For  days  we  hardly  touched  a  brace;  the  steady  wind,  growing 
daily  warmer,  sweetly  blew  the  little  brig  along.  It  was  the 
South  Pacific  Ocean.  Many  reports  are  there  of  the  various 
tempers  of  that  sea,  but,  for  my  part,  northward  of  the  parallel 
of  forty  degrees  I  have  ever  found  it  a  gentle  breast  of  ocean. 
Long  and  lazy  was  the  blue  swell  brimming  to  our  counter, 
drowsy  the  flap  of  the  sunny  canvas,  soft  the  cradled  motion 
of  the  ship.  Once  again  the  silver  flying  fish  glanced  from  the 
slope  of  the  violet  knolls.  The  wet,  black  fin  of  a  shark  hung 
steadfast  in  our  wake.  What  a  world  of  waters  it  was! 
Never  the  gleam  of  a  ship's  canvas  for  days  and  days  to  break 
the  boundless  continuity  of  the  distant  sea-line.  The  men 
relaxed  their  labors,  Yan  Bol  took  no  notice,  and  I,  who  was 
never  a  "hazer,"  was  willing  that  they  should  lounge  through 
their  toil  of  the  hours  in  a  climate  so  enervating  that  one 
yearned  to  sling  a  hammock  in  some  cool  corner  of  the  deck, 
to  lie  in  it  all  day,  to  smoke  and  doze  while  the  imagination 
slided  away  on  the  stream  of  the  rippling  music  made  by  the 
broken  waters  and  passed  into  the  fairy  harbors  of  dreams. 

"By  this  time  to-morrov/, "  said  Greaves  to  me  one  evening, 
"if  this  breeze  holds,  and  our  reckoning  is  true,  and  the  island 
has  not  been  exploded  by  a  volcano  or  an  earthquake,  you  will 
be  having  a  good  view  of  the  ship  in  the  cave — no,  I  am 
wrong,  a  good  view  of  her  you  will  not  obtain  from  the  sea, 
but  you  will  be  having  a  good  view  of  the  cave  in  which  she 
lies,  and  I  shall  be  very  much  surprised  if  you  are  not  mightily- 
impressed  by  the  magnitude  and  beauty  of  that  great  hole  or 
split  in  the  rock,  and  by  the  indescribable  complicated  atmos- 
phere or  shadow  within,  caused,  as  I  long  ago  explained  to 
you,  by  the  interlacery  of  the  ship's  gear  and  spars,  visible 
and  indeterminable." 

"Visible  and  indeterminal)le!     Captain,  you  put  it  as  though 
it  were  some  mystery  of  religion." 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  15 1 

"Do  you  object,  Fielding,"  said  he,  "to  sailors,  I  mean 
quarter-deck  sailors,  expressing  themselves  as  educated  men 
would,  nay,  as  average  gentlemen  would?  Are  you  for  keep- 
ing the  quarter-deck  sailor  down  to  Smollett's  platform  of 
Hatchway  and  Trunnion?  Must  we  swear,  must  we  drink, 
must  we  behave  when  ashore  like  lascivious  baboons  and  at  sea 
like  Newgate  felons,  who  have  burst  through  the  iron  bars  and 
are  sailing  away  for  their  lives,  merely  to  justify  the  landgoing 
notion  that  the  best  of  all  sailors  are  the  most  brutal  of  all 
beasts." 

"I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  I;  "I  meant  nothing." 

"Visible  and  indeterminable.  Are  they  not  good  words? 
Do  they  not  exactly  express  what  I  want  to  convey  to  your 
mind?     How  'der  toyfell'  would  you  have  me  talk?" 

He  looked  at  me  and  I  looked  at  him.  He  then  burst  into 
a  laugh,  and  we  stepped  the  deck  for  a  little  while  in  silence. 
The  time  was  something  after  half-past  seven.  The  sun  was 
gone,  and  night  had  descended  upon  the  sea.  It  was  a  tropic 
night.  The  dark  sky  was  full  of  splendid  brilliants.  A  mild 
air  blew  from  the  westward  and  the  brig,  with  her  two  spires 
of  canvas  lifting  pale  to  the  stars,  dreamily  floated  over  the 
black  water  that  here  and  there  shone  with  a  little  cloud  of 
sea-fire,  as  though  some  luminous  jelly  fish  was  riding  past, 
while  here  and  there  it  caught  and  feathered  back  the  flash  of 
some  large  star,  whose  silver  in  a  dead  calm  would  have  made 
an  almost  moon-like  wake.  Galloon  marched  by  our  side. 
Jimmy,  forward,  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  lay  leaning  over  the 
windlass  and  gazing  aft,  seemingly  at  the  shadowy  form  of  the 
dog,  as  though  he  hoped  to  coax  the  brute  that  way  by  per- 
sistent staring  and  wishing.  The  men,  in  twos  and  threes, 
trudged  the  forecastle.  So  still  was  the  evening,  so  seldom 
the  flap  of  canvas,  so  unvexing  to  the  hearing  the  summer 
sound  of  the  water  lightly  washing  in  the  furrow  of  bubbles 
and  foam-bells  astern,  that  the  voices  of  the  men  fell  distinctly 
upon  the  ear;  by  hearkening  one  might  have  caught  the  sylla- 
bles of  their  speech. 

It  had  gone  forward — taken  there  by  Yan  Bol,  or  whispered 
by  the  lad  Jimmy,  who  by  listening  to  the  captain  and  me,  as 
we  discoursed  at  the  cabin  table  at  meals,  would  be  able  to 
pick  up  news  enough  to  repeat;  it  had  gone  forward,  I  say, 
that,  the  weather  holding  as  it  was,  and  all  continuing  well,  by 
some  hour  next  day  we  should  be  having  the  island  on  the 
bow  or  beam,  perhaps  hove  to  off  it,  or  with  an  anchor  down. 


152  LTST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

Expectation  was  strong  in  the  men's  voices.  It  was  the  very 
night  for  their  flute  or  fiddle  ;  for  "Tom  Tough,"  or  "Britons, 
strike  home!"  or  for  some  boisterous  Dutch  song  in  Yan 
Bol's  thunder,  for  Call's  lamp-blacked  Jack  Puddingisms,  for 
Teach's  hornpipe,  for  general  caper-cutting,  in  a  word,  with  a 
can  of  grog  betwixt  the  knight-heads,  and  the  fumes  of  mun- 
dungus  strong  in  the  back-draughts.  But  the  humor  of  the 
sailors,  this  night,  was  to  walk  up  and  down  the  deck  in  twos 
and  threes,  and  to  talk  of  to-morrow  and  of  dollars. 

"If  La  Perfecta  Casada — a  fine-sounding  name,  by  the  way, 
captain,"  said  I,  "what  is  the  English  of  it?" 

"The  Perfect  Wife." 

"The  Spaniards,"  said  I,  "choose  strange  names  for  their 
ships.  They  have  many  Holy  Virgins  and  Purest  Marias  at 
sea.  I  knew  a  Spanish  ship  that  was  called  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Figure  an  English  vessel  so  called.  She  meets  another  English 
vessel,  which  hails  her:  'Ship  ahoy!'  'Hallo!'  'What  ship's 
that?'  'The  Holy  Ghost.'  There  is  a  looseness  in  this  sort  of 
naming  that  is  not  very  pleasing  to  Protestant  prejudice.  I 
asked  the  mate  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  'AVhy  is  your  ship  thus 
named?'  'That  she  may  not  sink,'  he  answered.  'Hell 
lies  downward.  If  the  Holy  Ghost  goes  anywhere,  'tis  up- 
ward.' " 

"You  are  in  a  talkative  humor  this  evening." 

"Well,  it  is  like  being  homeward  bound  when  the  end  of  the 
outward  passage  is  within  hail." 

"What  were  you  going  to  say  about  the  Casada  ?  " 

"I  have  never  clearly  gathered — supposing  her  to  be  still 
lying  in  that  cave  where  you  saw  her " 

"She  is  still  lying  in  that  cave  where  I  saw  her,"  he  inter- 
rupted, repeating  my  words  in  a  strong  voice. 

"I  have  never  clearly  gathered,"  I  continued,  "whether  it 
is  your  intention  to  tranship  her  cargo — I  mean  the  cocoa  and 
wool?" 

"I  cannot  make  up  my  mind  whether  or  not  to  meddle  with 
those  commodities,"  said  he,  "and  so,  because  I  have  not  been 
able  to  form  an  intention,  you  have  not  been  able  to  gather  one 
from  our  conversation.  The  weather  will  advise  me.  Then  I 
shall  want  to  know  the  condition  of  the  cargo.  The  wool, 
cocoa,  and  hides  in  the  hair  may  not  be  worth  lifting  out  of  a 
hold  that  has  been  aground  in  a  cave  since  1810.  But  there 
are  a  thousand  quintals  of  tin,  and  there  are  some  casks  of 
tortoise  $hell — we  shall  see,  we  shall  see." 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  I53 

"Mynheer  Tulp, "  said  I,  "will,  no  doubt,  be  able  to  find 
room  for  all  that  you  can  carry  home." 

"Room  and  a  market.  But  I  am  here  for  dollars.  I  believe 
I  shall  not  meddle  with  the  other  stuff.  We'll  tranship  as  fast 
as  the  boats  can  ply,  and  then  away." 

I  made  no  answer,  being  occupied  at  that  instant  with 
admiring  the  effect  of  a  flash  of  lightning  in  the  southwest — a 
clear  and  lovely  blaze  of  violet  which  threw  out  the  horizon  in 
a  black,  firm,  indigo  line. 

I  went  below  with  Greaves,  at  eight  o'clock,  to  drink  a  glass 
of  cold  grog  before  turning  in.  Greaves  had  brought  the 
chart  of  this  part  of  the  American  coast  out  of  his  cabin,  and 
we  sat  together  conversing  and  looking  at  it.  At  intervals  I 
was  sensible  of  the  burly  figure  of  Yan  Bol  pausing  near  the 
open  skylight,  under  which  we  sat,  to  peer  down  and  to  listen. 
But  there  was  nothing  Greaves  desired  to  withhold  from  the 
crew,  nothing  he  was  not  willing  that  any  man  of  them  should 
overhear  if  it  were  not,  perhaps,  the  value  of  the  money  on 
board  the  Casada  ;  though  even  their  overhearing  of  this  would 
be  a  matter  of  indifference,  since  they  were  bound  to  form  an 
opinion  of  their  own  of  the  contents  and  value  of  the  cases  of 
dollars  when  they  came  to  handle  them. 

Greaves  had  marked  down  upon  the  chart  the  position  of 
the  island  in  accordance  with  his  observations  when  he  hove 
to  off  it  and  sighted  the  ship  in  the  cave  on  his  way  to  Guaya- 
quil. The  position  of  the  brig  by  dead  reckoning  since  noon 
brought  us,  at  this  hour  of  eight,  within  twenty  leagues  of  the 
spot,  and,  therefore,  supposing  Greaves'  observations  to  have 
been  correct,  and  supposing  that  the  weak  wind  that  was  flap- 
ping us  onward  continued  to  blow  throughout  the  night,  we 
had  good  reason  to  hope  that  the  bright  morning  light  would 
give  us  a  view  of  the  tall  heap  of  cinder  cliffs  before  another 
twelve  hours  should  have  gone  round. 

Greaves  was  making  certain  calculations  with  a  pencil  on  a 
sheet  of  paper,  and  I,  with  a  pair  of  compasses,  was  measuring 
the  distance  of  the  island  from  the  mainland,  when  we  were 
startled  by  the  roaring  voice  of  Yan  Bol,  whose  full  face  was 
thrust  into  the  open  skylight. 

"For  der  love  of  Cott,  captain,  goom  on  deck  und  see  vhat  vhas 
wrong!     Der  sea  vhas  on  fire.     Quick!  or  ve  vhas  all  burnt  up." 

"What  does  he  say?"  cried  Greaves,  who  had  been  unable 
to  promptly  disengage  his  attention  from  his  calculations. 

"He  says   that  the  sea   is  on  fire  and  that  we  shall  all  be 


154  .  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

burnt    up,"    I    exclaimed,    picking    up    my    cap;    and,    in    a 
moment,  we  were  both  on  deck. 

"Der  sea  vhas  on  fire!"  thundered  Yan  Bol  as  we  stepped 
through  the  hatch. 

I  looked  ahead  over  the  bows  of  the  brig,  and  the  sea  all 
that  way  was  splendid  and  terrible  with  light.  I  call  it  light, 
but  light  it  was  not,  unless  that  be  light  which  is  made  by  snow 
in  darkness.  It  was  a  wonderful  whiteness  that  seemed  a  sort 
of  fire.  It  blended  the  junction  of  sea  and  sky  into  a  wide 
and  ghastly  glare,  and  the  light  of  the  white  water  rolled 
upward  into  the  sky  as  the  clearly-defined  edge  of  the  milky 
surface  advanced,  as  you  see  a  blue  edge  of  breeze  sweeping 
over  a  silver  surface  of  dead  calm.  The  sea  where  the  brig 
w^as  sailing  was  black,  as  it  had  been  before  we  went  below, 
and  in  the  deep,  soft,  indigo  dusk  over  our  mastheads  the  stars 
were  shining;  but  the  sparkling  of  the  luminaries  languished 
over  our  fore  yardarms,  and  it  was  easy  to  guess  that,  if  the 
coming  whiteness  spread,  the  sky  and  all  that  was  shining  in  it 
would  be  hidden. 

"Captain,"  cried  Bol,  "vhat  in  der  good  anchel's  name  vhas 
she?" 

"A  star  has  fallen,"  answ-ered  Greaves,  "and  is  shining  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea." 

"A  star?     Vhat,  a  star  from  der  sky?" 

"Where  do  stars  grow^?"  said  Greaves. 

"Do  you  mean  a  shooting  star,  captain?"  cried  Bol. 

"Yan  Bol,"  said  Greaves,  nudging  me  as  w-e  stood  side  by 
side,  "you  have  much  to  learn.  Do  not  you  know  that  the 
stars  are  often  falling?  They  drop  into  other  worlds  than 
ours.  Sometimes  they  plump  into  our  earth,  fizz  into  the  sea, 
and  lie  on  the  ooze,  shining  for  awjiile  and  making  queer  lights 
upon  the  water  like  that  yonder." 

Bol  breathed  deeply.  He  could  read,  indeed;  but  he  was 
as  ignorant,  prejudiced,  and  grossly  superstitious  as  most  fore- 
castle hands  in  his  day — fitter  for  the  faiths  of  a  Finn  than  a 
Hollander.  He  stared  at  the  advancing  whiteness,  and  seemed 
not  to  know  what  to  make  of  the  captain's  discourse.  "Yes," 
continued  Greaves,  "they  are  frequently  falling.  They  are 
the  stars  which  were  loosed  in  the  pavement  of  heaven  when 
the  angels  fell.  There  should  be  many  more  stars  than  there 
are.  Unhappily,  when  Lucifer  was  hurled  over  the  battle- 
ments he  swept  away  a  number  of  stars  with  his  tail  and 
loosened  many  more,  and  it  is  those  which  drop." 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  155 

"Der  toyfell!"   muttered  Bol.      "Von  lifs  und  larns." 
"It  is  a  wonderful  sight,"  said  I,  gazing  with  astonishment, 
not  wholly  unmixed,  at  the  mighty  whiteness  that  was  coming 
along. 

Already  on  high  the  verge  of  the  startling  milky  reflection 
was  over  our  fore  royal  masthead.  You  might  look  straight 
up  now  and  see  no  stars.  The  line  of  the  flaring  whiteness 
upon  the  sea  was  a  little  more  than  a  mile  distant.  The  wind 
blew  softly,  and  before  it  the  brig  floated  onward,  meeting  the 
coming  whiteness  with  an  occasional  flap  of  canvas  that  fell 
upon  the  ear  like  a  note  of  alarm  from  aloft. 

"Did  you   never   before  see   the  white  water,    Fielding?" 
exclaimed  Greaves. 
"Never,  sir." 

"I  have  sailed  through  it  three  times,"  said  he.  "Once  off 
Natal,  once  in  Indian,  and  once  in  China  seas.  I  did  not  know 
it  was  to  be  met  with  on  this  side  the  world;  but  everything  is 
probable  and  possible  at  sea.  I  tell  you  what,  Bol,"  he 
exclaimed,  calling  across  to  the  Dutchman,  who  had  gone  to 
the  side  to_  stare,  and  was  holding  on  to  a  shroud,  or  backstay, 
with  his  big  body  painted  black  as  ink  against  the  whiteness 
that  was  coming  along,  "I  believe  I  am  mistaken,  after  all. 
It  is  not  a  star;  it  is  an  insect." 

"I  likes  to  handle  dot  insect.  I  likes  her  in  der  forecastle 
to  read  by  und  light  my  pipe  by,"  said  Bol,  with  a  coarse, 
heavy,  uneasy  laugh,  that  sounded  like  the  bray  of  an  ass. 

"It  is  a  subglobular  insect,"  said  Greaves,  nudging  me 
again,  "compressed  vertically,  convex  above,  concave  beneath, 
wrapped  in  a  transparent  coriaceous  envelope,  containing  a 
white,  gelatinous  substance.  Repeat  that  to  the  men,  Bol, 
will  you,  should  the  whiteness  make  them  uneasy.  Very  few 
sailors,"  said  he,  addressing  me,  and  talking  without  appearing 
in  the  least  degree  sensible  of  the  wonderful  and  alarming 
milk-white  light  that  was  now  almost  upon  us,  "take  the 
trouble  to  scientifically  examine  what  passes  under  their  noses. 
What,  for  example,  is  more  often  under  a  sailor's  nose  than 
bilge  water?  An  Irish  skipper  once  asked  me  what  bilge  water 
was.  I  told  him  that  it  was  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  hydro- 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  oxide  of  iron,  and  compounds  of  lead 
and  zinc.  'J^'^sus,'  said  he,  'and  is  that  how  you  spell  shtink 
in  English?'  " 

As  he  spoke  the  brig,  with  a  long-drawn  flap  up  aloft,  smote 
the  sharply-defined  white  line,  and  in  an  instant  was  bathed  in 


156  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

the  unearthly  light.  We  had  not  been  able  to  see  each  other's 
faces  before.  Now  the  very  expression  of  countenance  was 
visible.  The  whole  body  of  the  brig  was  revealed  as  though 
by  the  light  of  the  moon,  and  the  ghastliness  of  the  light  lay  in 
its  making  no  shadow.  The  seamen  stood  staring  and  gaping; 
withered,  they  seemed,  into  a  posture  of  utter  lifelessness. 
But  no  shadows  lay  at  their  feet,  no  shadow  stretched  from  the 
foot  of  the  mast ;  I  looked  down,  the  planks  lay  plain,  the 
seams  clear,  but  I  made  no  shadow.  Nor  did  this  magic  light 
mirror  itself.  I  glanced  at  the  polished  brass  piece  aft,  but 
no  star  of  reflection  burnt  in  it,  no  gleam  lay  up  on  the  cabin 
skylight.  It  was  light  and  yet  it  was  not  light,  and  the  wonder 
of  it,  and,  perhaps,  the  fearfulness  of  it,  to  me,  who  had  never 
beheld  such  a  sight  before,  lay  in  that. 

And  now,  by  this  time,  the  whole  sea  was  as  though  covered 
with  snow  or  milk,  as  far  as  we  could  extend  the  gaze.  The 
sky  reflected  the  light  and  the  stars  were  eclipsed,  but  the 
reflection  on  high  had  not  the  glare  of  the  ocean  surface.  I 
went  to  the  side  and  peered  over;  the  brig  seemed  to  be 
thrusting  through  an  ocean  of  quicksilver.  The  water  broke 
thickly  and  sluggishly  in  small  heaps  from  the  bows,  and  the 
patches,  as  they  came  eddying  aft,  were  like  clots  of  cream. 

The  sensation  induced  by  the  progress  of  the  vessel  was  as 
though  she  were  forcing  her  way  through  a  dense  jelly.  The 
slight  heave  of  the  sea  was  flattened ;  there  was  not  the  least 
visible  motion  in  this  surface  of  whiteness;  the  brig  stood 
upright  on  it  and  the  swing  of  the  trucks  would  not  have 
spanned  the  diameter  of  the  moon.  There  was  no  fire  in  the 
water,  no  corruscation  of  sea  glow,  no  green  gleam  of  phos- 
phor. To  the  very  recesses  of  the  horizon  went  sheeting  this 
marvelous  breast  of  milk-white  softness  that,  though  it  was  not 
luminous,  yet  flung  an  illumination  as  of  the  radiance  of  a  faint 
aurora  borealis  upon  the  heavens. 

"This  is  a  beautiful  sight,"  exclaimed  Greaves. 

"It  will  be  a  memorable  one,"  I  answered. 

"I  have  never  before,"  said  he,  "seen  the  white  water  so 
white,  but  the  like  of  this  phenomenon  which  I  witnessed  oif 
the  coast  of  Natal  was  heightened  and  beautified  by  a  strange 
light  in  the  heavens  to  the  northward.  It  was  a  delicate,  rosy 
light.  I  should  have  imagined  it  was  the  moon  rising,  had  not 
the  moon  been  up." 

"Do  I  understand,"  said  I,  "that  this  sublime  light  is  pro- 
duced by  a  marine  insect?" 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  157 

"By  nothing  more  nor  less — so  'tis  said.  It  is  the  marine  in- 
sect that  will  sometimes  give  you  an  ocean  of  blood,  and  some- 
times an  ocean  of  exquisite  violet,  and  sometimes,  as  I  have 
heard,  though  it  is  something  rare  to  witness,  an  ocean  of  ink." 

"An  insect!"  I  exclaimed.  "And  how  many  go  to  this 
show?" 

"Oh,  for  a  shipload  of  infidels  now!"  cried  he.  "D'ye  see 
them  looking  up  to  God  after  gazing,  white  as  the  water  itself, 
at  the  ocean?" 

By  this  time  the  watch  below  had  turned  out,  aroused,  no 
doubt,  by  one  of  the  sailors  on  duty.  The  men  in  a  body  had 
gradually  worked  their  way  from  the  forecastle  to  the  gangway. 
They  were  all  as  plainly  to  be  viewed  as  by  the  sickly  light  of 
a  foggy  day.  No  man  spoke;  not  for  minute  after  minute 
did  the  grunt  or  growl  of  any  one  of  their  hurricane  throats 
reach  my  ears.  The  wild  vast  scene  of  whiteness  terrified 
them.  The  impression  produced  was  the  deeper  because  this 
was  the  night  before  the  day  that  was  to  heave  Greaves'  island 
out  of  the  sea  for  our  sight  to  feast  on.  For  let  it  be  remem- 
bered at  least  that  the  adventure  we  were  on  was  highly 
romantic;  the  plain,  illiterate  Jacks  would  find  something 
almost  magical,  something  a  little  out  of  nature,  according  to 
their  scuttle-butt  and  harness-cask  views  of  life,  in  Greaves' 
discovery  of  an  uncharted  island,  with  a  ship  full  of  dollars 
in  a  hole  in  it.  Also  in  these  seas  stood  the  Galapagos, 
islands  of  mystery  and  darkness,  whose  dusky  rocks  had  not 
width  enough  of  front  to  receive  from  the  chisel  or  the  knife 
the  records  of  the  bloody  and  diabolical  tragedies  of  which 
they  had  been  the  theater. 

A  man  stepped  out  of  the  group;  he  coughed  hoarsely  and 
spat.  His  hand  went  to  his  forehead,  and  he  scraped  the  sea 
bow  of  those  times. 

"Capt'n,  I  beg  your  honor's  pardon,"  he  said,  "us  men 
would  like  to  know  what  sea  this  here  is?" 

"The  South  Pacific — always  the  South  Pacific,"  answered 
Greaves. 

"Will  your  honor  tell  us  what's  the  meaning  of  this  here 
chalkiness?" 

"My  lads,  some  clumsy  son  of  a  gun  has  capsized  a  milk 
can.  Look  for  his  ship,  my  hearts;  she  can't  be  far  off." 
Some  of  the  men  stupidly  gazed  seaward. 

"Vhas  der  island  vashed  by  dis  milkiness,  captain?" 
exclaimed  Wirtz. 


158  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"It  stands  in  the  bluest  sea  in  the  world,"  answered 
Greaves. 

"This  here's  a  sight,"  said  Travers,  "that  may  be  all 
blooming  fine  to  read  about,  but  'taint  lucky,  to  my  ways  of 
thinking.      Give  me  natur,  says  I." 

He  did  not  use  the  word  blooming.  This  elegant  expres- 
sion was  not  to  be  heard  in  those  days;  but  let  it  stand. 

"Has  none  of  you  ever  seen  such  a  sight  as  this  before?" 
called  Greaves. 

After  a  pause,  "Ne'er  a  man."  nnswered  Teach. 

"Then  gaze  your  eyes  full!  drink  your  hearts  full!  Never 
again  may  you  behold  the  like  of  this  field  of  glory.  Look 
thirstily!  look  till  ye  burst  with  the  beauty  that'll  come  into 
you  by  looking!  Fear  not,  my  sons — w^  shall  be  out  of  it  all 
too  soon.  Gaze,  my  livelies,  and  silver  your  souls  with  this 
brightness  as  it  silvers  your  cheeks.  Bol,  out  whistle  and  pipe 
grog,  that  we  may  watch  with  enjoyment." 

Bol  blew.  Jimmy,  with  Galloon  at  his  heels,  arrived  with 
the  can;  the  tot  measure  was  dipped  into  the  black  liquor, 
lifted  and  emptied,  and  the  dram  seemed  to  give  every  man 
heart  enough  to  look  about  him  with  common  curiosity.  One 
of  the  fellows  fetched  a  bucket,  dropped  it  over  the  side,  and 
hauled  it  up  full.  I  drew  close.  It  was  as  though  a  pail  of 
cream  had  been  handed  aboard. 

I  put  my  finger  into  the  whiteness.  It  was  as  thin  as  salt 
water,  nothing  gluey  or  cheesy  about  it,  though  from  the  bows 
the  whiteness  rolled  away  from  the  rending  slide  of  the  cut- 
water as  thickly  and  obstinately  as  melted  ore,  and  astern 
there  was  no  wake ;   it  might  have  been  oil. 

For  an  hour  we  sailed  through  this  sea  of  cream  and  under 
a  dimmer  sky  of  white.  Bald  and  ghostly  was  that  passage 
rendered  by  the  shadowlessness  of  our  decks.  Tlie  sails 
swelled  dark  against  the  paleness ;  so  clear  was  the  tracing  of 
the  fabric  of  mast  and  canvas  against  the  sky,  that  the  course 
of  so  delicate  a  rope  as  the  royal  backstay  could  be  traced  to 
the  head  of  the  mast,  and  you  saw  the  jewel  block  at  each 
topsail  and  topgallant  yardarm,  clean  cut  as  a  pear  on  a 
bough  against  a  sunset.  Greaves  came  to  a  stand  opposite  me 
and  looked  me  in  the  face. 

"You  make  me  think  of  my  dreams  of  the  dead,"  said  he; 
"the  dead  are  always  pale  when  they  come  to  me  in  dreams. 
Most  people  who  dream  of  the  dead  dream  of  them  as  they 
remember  them  in  life.     There  is  light  in  the  eye,  and  color 


THE    WHITE    WATER.  159 

on  the  cheek.     They  always  rise  before  me  pale  from  their 
coffins." 

"Inspiriting  talk,  captain,"  said  I,  "at  such  a  moment! 
But  I  hope  I  look  no  more  like  a  dead  man  than  the  rest  of  us. " 

"If  I  were  an  artist,"  said  he,  "I  would  give  many  guineas 
out  of  my  earnings  for  the  chance  of  beholding  such  a  light  as 
this;  this  is  the  sort  of  light  through  which  I  would  paint  the 
Phantom  Ship  sailing.  Figure  that  wondrous  ghost  out  upon 
those  white  waters,  the  pallid  faces  of  her  men,  to  whom  death 
is  denied,  looking  over  her  side  at  the  white  sky,  every  timber 
in  her  glowing  with  the  jewelry  of  rottenness — you  know  what 
I  mean — the  green  phosphoric  sparkling  of  decay.  Cannot 
you  see  her  out  yonder,  dully  gleaming  with  dim  green  crawl- 
ings  of  fire  as  she  steals  noiselessly  through  this  frothy  soft- 
ness, the  hush  of  living  death  upon  her,  the  silence  of  cata- 
lepsy? But  what  is  the  name  of  the  painter,  I  should  like  to 
know,  who  is  going  to  give  us  this  light  upon  canvas?  Oh, 
tell  me  his  name.  Fielding,  that  I  may  offer  him  all  the  ducats 
I  hope  to  be  in  sight  of  to-morrow  for  his  secret." 

"Less  my  whack." 

"Less  yours.  But  mine,  plus  Tulp's.  Damn  Tulp;  I'll 
drink  his  health."  He  called  to  Jimmy:  "Two  glasses  of 
brandy-and-water,  three  finger-nips,  James." 

The  liquor  was  brought,  we  chinked  glasses,  and  down 
went  the  doses,  to  the  benefit  of  one  of  us  certainly ;  for  I  had 
not  liked  his  talk  of  my  looking  like  a  dead  man,  and  his  fan- 
cies of  the  Phantom  Ship  with  her  crawlings  of  fire  and  cheese- 
like faces  overhanging  the  side.  Jack,  if  you  are  reading  this, 
bear  with  me.  I  was  a  sailor,  and,  as  a  sailor,  you  will  know 
that  I  would  not  relish  such  talk  at  such  a  time. 

On  a  sudden  the  wind  slightly  freshened,  with  a  melancholy 
cry,  across  the  white  water,  and,  as  if  by  magic,  the  sea  ahead 
opened  black,  with  a  few  stars  hovering  over  it.  Some  min- 
utes later,  the  northern  edge  of  the  milky  surface  came  stream- 
ing to  our  bows,  and  swept  past  us  as  though  'twas  the  edge  of 
a  mighty  white  sheet  dragged  by  giant  hands  down  in  the 
south  over  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  I  watched  the  marvelous 
appearance  receding  astern,  the  sky  unveiling  its  stars  as  the 
whiteness  dimmed  away,  till  it  was  pure  nature  once  again,  the 
heavens  shining,  the  swell  coming  into  the  ocean  with  its  long 
and  lazy  lift  of  the  brig,  the  pleasant  hiss  of  foam  under  her 
bow,  and  a  little  dance  of  jewels  in  the  furrow  astern. 

It  was  my  watch  below,  and  I  went  to  my  cabin. 


l6o  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

greaves'  island. 

I  PULLED  off  my  coat  and  lay  down.  Eleven  o'clock  was 
struck  on  deck  before  I  closed  my  eyes.  I  was  much  excited. 
The  prospect  of  the  dawn  disclosing  the  island  kept  me  rest- 
less. Was  there  an  island  in  this  part  of  these  seas  for  the 
dawn  to  disclose?  and,  if  an  island  existed,  would  there  be  a 
cave  in  it,  and  would  that  cave  contain  a  large  Spanish  ship, 
with  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  stowed  away  in 
cases  in  her  lazarette? 

I  reviewed  Greaves'  behavior.  He  had  been  cool,  I 
thought,  seeing  that  this  was  the  eve  of  the  day  that  was  to 
bring  us  off  the  island  and  put  the  dollars  within  reach  of  our 
oars.  He  had  joked  at  the  overwhelming  apparition  of  the 
white  water;  he  had  talked  of  worms  and  fallen  stars;  he  had 
treated  a  magnificent  phenomenon  without  reverence;  and,  in 
one  way  or  another,  he  had  acted  as  though  to-morrow  were 
to  be  charged  with  no  more  than  what  to-day  had  held.  These 
and  the  like  reflections  kept  me  awake.  Shortly  after  six  bells 
had  been  struck  1  fell  asleep. 

At  midnight  Bol  aroused  me  to  take  his  place,  and  I  went 
on  deck  to  keep  watch  until  four  o'clock.  It  was  a  quiet, 
rippling  night ;  the  moist  breath  of  old  ocean  gushed  pleas- 
antly over  the  larboard  quarter,  and  the  brig  slipped  softly 
forward,  clothed  with  studding  sails.  Several  shadowy  figures 
of  the  crew  moved  about  the  deck;  their  motions  were  rest- 
less; they'd  go  to  the  side,  bend  over,  and  peer  ahead.  At 
any  other  time  it  was  just  the  night  for  a  quiet  snooze  about 
the  decks,  with  a  coil  of  rope  for  a  pillow,  and  the  stars  right 
overhead  to  watch  until  they  winked  one  asleep.  But  the 
men  were  too  restless  to  "plank  it"  this  night.  They  guessed 
the  island  to  be  somewhere  away  out  yonder  in  the  dusk. 
They  might  hope  at  any  moment  for  an  order  from  the  quarter- 
deck to  back  the  main  topsail  yard.  They  were  under  the 
spell  of  the  almighty  dollar! 

Bol  hung  near,  waiting  for  me  to  arrive. 

"Anything  in  sight,  Bol?" 

"Noting,  Mr.  Fielding,"  he  answered  out  of  the  depth  of 
his  lungs;  "but  dere  vhas  time.  She  vhas  not  to-morrow 
yet." 

"No  more  white  water?" 


GREAVES    ISLAND.  i6l 

"No,  by  tunder,  Mr.  Fielding.  Enough  vhas  as  goodt  as  a 
feast.  I  like  der  captain's  notion  of  a  star.  She  vhas  a  fine 
idea.  Der  verm  vhas  silly.  How  shall  a  verm  shine  in  vater. 
Vill  not  der  vater  put  her  light  out?" 

I  was  in  no  humor  to  talk  to  him  about  phosphorus. 

"You  had  better  go  forward  and  get  some  rest,"  said  I. 
"Should  daylight  give  us  the  island  there  will  be  plenty  to  do 
for  all  hands." 

He  grunted  and  moved  forward,  but  not  to  turn  in.  His 
unwieldy  shape  joined  other  flitting  forms,  and  I  heard  his 
deep  voice  rumbling  first  on  one  bow  and  then  on  t'other  as 
he  crossed  the  deck. 

Greaves  made  his  appearance  three  or  four  times  during 
this  middle  watch.  He  did  not  stay.  He  would  come  up  to 
me  and  say: 

"Well,  what  do  you  see?" 

"I  see  nothing." 

"All  the  same,  it's  in  sight,  but  you're  not  a  cat.  Fielding. 
Mind  your  helm.  The  difference  of  a  quarter  of  a  point  might 
sink  the  island  for  us  by  daybreak." 

He  would  then  go  to  the  binnacle  and  stand  looking  upon 
the  card,  address  the  helmsman,  and  after  running  his  eyes 
over  the  canvas  and  stepping  to  the  side,  not  to  peer  ahead 
like  the  men,  but  to  judge  of  the  rate  of  sailing  by  the  passage 
of  the  sea  fire  through  the  deep  shadow  made  by  the  hull,  dis- 
appear through  the  companion  way. 

It  was  very  dark  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  which 
hour  my  watch  ended.  When  eight  bells  were  struck  I  went 
into  the  head  and  sunk  my  sight  into  the  obscurity  forward, 
running  my  gaze  from  beam  to  beam,  for  though  it  was  very 
black  there  were  stars  sparely  shining  over  the  sea  line,  and  by 
the  obliteration  of  a  handful  of  them  might  I  guess  the  pres- 
ence of  land;  but  I  saw  nothing.  I  went  aft  and  found  Bol 
near  the  wheel  and  Greaves  in  the  act  of  stepping  through  the 
hatchway.  Eight  bells  had  not  long  been  chimed  and  the  lar- 
board watch  had  not  yet  gone  below. 

"While  all  hands  are  on  deck  reduce  sail,  Mr.  Fielding," 
said  Greaves.  "Take  in  your  studding  sails  and  ease  her 
down  to  the  main  topgallant  sail." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

Nothing  more  was  said.  Van  Bol  went  forward,  I  remained 
aft,  whence  I  delivered  the  necessary  orders.  The  heavier 
canvas  was  rolled  up  by  all  hands ;   the  watch  was  then  called 


l62  LIST,    YE  LAN-DSMENf 

— that  is  to  say,  the  larboard  watch  were  sent  below.  Day- 
break was  still  an  hour  off.  I  said  to  myself,  if  the  island  is 
hereabouts  there  will  be  plenty  to  do  when  daylight  comes. 
Let  me  sleep  while  I  can;  and  for  the  second  time  that  night 
I  withdrew  to  my  cabin  and  lay  down,  "all  standing,"  ready 
for  a  call. 

I  slept  well,  and  was  awakened  by  a  beating  upon  the  door. 
The  voice  of  the  lad  Jimmy  called  out: 

"It's  eight  bells,  sir." 

"Any  news  of  the  island?"   I  cried. 

I  received  no  reply;  in  fact,  the  lad  had  run  on  deck  the 
instant  he  had  called  the  time  to  me.  The  berth  was  full  of 
light  and  the  glass  of  the  scuttle  was  a  trembling,  brilliant,  silver- 
blue  disk,  with  the  ocean  splendor  flowing  to  it.  I  stepped  on 
deck,  and  the  moment  my  head  was  clear  of  the  companion 
way  I  beheld  the  island.  It  stood  at  a  distance  of  about  seven 
miles  upon  the  lee  or  starboard  bow.  Greaves  was  pacing  the 
deck,  with  his  hands  locked  behind  him  and  his  head  thought- 
fully bent.  Yan  Bol  stood  in  the  gangway  and  all  hands  were 
forward  breakfasting  in  the  open;  they  grasped  pannikins  of 
steaming  tea ;  they  sawed  with  jack-knives  at  cubes  of  beef, 
blue  with  brine,  locked  by  their  hairy  thumbs  to  biscuits, 
which  served  for  trenchers ;  the  muscles  of  their  leather  cheeks 
moved  slowly  as  they  chawed,  chawed,  chawed,  cow-like;  and 
cow-like  still  they  moved  their  eyes  slowly  in  their  sockets  to 
direct  them  at  the  island  over  the  bow. 

The  morning  was  a  wide  field  of  day,  a  full  heaven  of  tropic 
splendor,  with  a  light  breeze  off  the  larboard  beam  blowing 
you  knew  not  whence,  for  there  was  never  a  cloud  for  the 
wind  to  come  out  of.  They  had  made  all  plain  sail  on  the 
brig;  she  was  floating  forward,  spars  erect,  under  royals;  the 
studding  sails  were  stowed  and  the  booms  rigged  in. 

I  stood  staring  for  some  moments,  with  my  mind  in  a  state 
of  confusion.  There  was  the  island!  The  mass  of  it  standing 
upon  the  light  blue  glory  of  water  nortlieast  was  a  hard  rebuke 
to  my  skepticism.  Yet — shall  I  say  it — not  the  most  merce- 
nary of  the  munching  Jacks  in  the  bows  could  have  felt  a 
keener  delight  at  the  sight  of  that  island  than  I.  It  signified 
dollars  and  independence  to  my  ardent  hopes.  I  had  tliought 
much  upon  my  share  of  six  thousand  pounds,  dreamt  of 
the  money  often,  had  builded  many  fancies  tall  and  radiant 
upon  Greaves'  bond,  and,  sometimes  had  I  believed  that 
Greaves'  story  was  true,  and  sometimes  had   I  believed  that 


GREAVES'   ISLAND.  163 

Greaves'  story  was  a  dream,  and  therefore  a  lie.  And  now 
there  was  the  island,  down  away  over  the  starboard  bow,  a 
lump  of  shadow  against  the  blue,  to  verify  Greaves'  assurance 
of  an  island  being  thereabout  anyhow,  and  on  the  merits  of 
that  verification  to  warrant  all  the  rest  of  the  wonder  of  cave, 
of  ship,  and  of  a  lazarette  full  of  dollars! 

For  a  few  moments  only  I  stood  staring.  Thought  hath 
wondrous  velocity,  and  in  a  few  moments  much  will  pass 
through  the  mind.  I  stepped  up  to  Greaves  as  his  walk 
brought  him  to  me.  I  should  have  wished  to  give  him  my 
hand,  but  the  etiquette  of  the  quarter-deck  forbade  that. 

"Captain,"  said  I,  in  a  low  voice,  full,  nevertheless,  of  cor- 
diality and  enthusiasm,  "I  warmly  congratulate  you." 

"And  yourself,"  said  he  dryly. 

"And  myself,"  said  I,  "and  all  hands,  including  Mynheer 
Tulp." 

"Seeing  is  believing,"  said  he,  still  dryly.  I  looked  at  the 
island.  "And  yet,"  continued  he,  "though  that  land  be  there 
the  ship  and  her  cargo  may  be  nothing  more  than  a  dream." 

He  had  seen  a  little  deeper  into  me  than  I  had  supposed. 
Finding  him  sarcastic  I  held  my  peace,  and  the  better  to  cover 
my  silence  stooped  to  caress  Galloon.  He  changed  his  voice 
and  manner. 

"My  observations,"  said  he,  "of  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  that  island  were  perfectly  correct,  you  see." 

"Perfectly  correct,  indeed,"  I  echoed.  "It  is  strange  that 
so  big  a  rock  should  remain  uncharted." 

"Nothing  is  strange  at  sea — in  this  sea  particularly.  The 
Spaniards  are  always  for  making  their  journeys  by  one  road. 
Anything  lying  off  that  road  they  miss,  unless  they  happen  to 
be  blown  on  to  it,  when  one  of  two  things  happens;  they 
perish,  or  they  petition  the  Madonna  and  escape.  If  they 
escape,  they  have  no  more  to  tell  about  the  rock  or  coast  from 
which  they  narrowly  came  off  with  their  lives  than  if  they  had 
perished.  Why  is  that  island  uncharted  by  the  Spaniards? 
Is  it  because  no  mariner  among  them  has  fallen  in  with  it? 
Oh,  they  are  lazy  rogues  all,  they  are  lazy  rogues  all;  timid, 
fearful  navigators,  execrable  hydrographers." 

"It  is  odd  that  no  Englishman  should  have  fallen  in  with  it." 

"That  is  as  it  happens  to  be." 

I  fetched  the  glass,  and  steadied  it  upon  the  rail,  and  looked. 
The  island  stood  up  large  and  livid,  tawny  in  patches,  a  huge 
cinderous  heap.     The   hue,  and  even   the  appearance  of   it, 


l64  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

somewhat  reminded  me  of  Ascension  viewed  at  a  distance. 
One  or  two  parts  were  robed  with  green.  There  was  a  tremble 
and  flash  of  surf  at  the  extremities,  and  I  guessed  that  when 
the  sea  ran  high,  it  would  break  very  fiercely  and  dangerously 
against  all  weather-fronting  corners  of  that  lonely  rock. 
Greaves  came  and  stood  beside  me.  I  was  conscious  of  his 
presence,  and  talked  to  him  with  my  eye  at  the  telescope. 

"In  what  part  of  the  island  is  the  cave  situated,  sir?" 

"Do  you  observe  a  lump  of  land  swelling  above  the  edge  of 
the  cliff  to  the  left?" 

"Yes." 

"That  lump  or  mound  is  the  summit  of  the  front  of  the  rock 
in  which  lies  the  cave.  We  are  opening  it  from  the  south- 
ward. I  opened  it,  when  I  fell  in  with  that  land,  from  the 
westward." 

"It  is  a  volcanic  pile,"  said  I.  "I  observed  points  of  rocks 
like  chimneys.     They  may  have  smoked  once  upon  a  time." 

He  took  the  glass  from  me,  leisurely  inspected  the  island, 
and  walked  the  dark  in  his  earlier  thoughtful  posture,  head 
bowed,  hands  locked  behind  him.  I  understood  what  was  in 
his  mind,  and  held  off;  he  would  have  nothing  to  say  until  the 
wreck  of  the  Spaniard  stood  before  him  in  its  dusky  tomb. 
He  mastered  his  anxiety,  but  would  nov/  and  again  pause  and 
direct  at  the  island  a  look  that,  with  its  accompanying  play  of 
face,  expression  of  lip,  suggestion  of  posture,  told  more  of  what 
was  passing  in  him  than  had  he  talked  for  an  hour. 

He  ordered  the  boy  Jimmy  to  put  breakfast  on  the  skylight; 
and  we  ate,  standing  or  walking,  but  exchanging  very  few 
words.  Thus  slipped  the  time  away,  and  so  slipped  we 
through  the  water.  The  brig  bowed  as  she  went;  a  long 
breathing  spell  followed  her  astern,  and  the  sails  came  in  to  the 
mast  as  she  rose  with  the  heave  of  the  dark  blue  brine.  The 
sailors  lay  over  the  forecastle  head,  waiting  for  the  approach 
of  the  island  and  for  orders.  Now  and  again  one  would  point 
and  one  would  speak,  but  expectation  lay  as  a  weight  upon 
their  minds.  It  subdued  them.  For  there  was  the  island,  to 
be  sure,  and  the  cave,  no  doubt,  was  round  the  corner,  and  in 
that  cave  might  be  the  ship.  But  the  dollars,  the  dollars,  ah! 
Lay  they  there  still  massive,  good  tender  as  the  guinea,  plenti- 
ful as  roe  in  the  herring,  noble  coins  to  tassel  a  handkerchief 
with,  to  clink  out  the  sweetest  music  in  the  world  with  to  the 
accompaniment  of  deck-blistered  feet  marching  across  the 
gangway  to  the  wharf,  to  the  joys  of  the  alley  boarding  house, 


GREAVES'  ISLAND.  165 

to  the  delights  of  the  runner's  parlor — lay  they  there  still  in 
the  moldering  hold  within  the  cave? 

So  did  I  interpret  the  thoughts  of  the  sailors,  and  I  would 
have  bet  the  last  dollar  of  my  share  upon  the  accuracy  of  my 
construction  of  their  several  countenances  and  attitudes. 

"Let  her  go  off,"  said  the  captain. 

The  man  at  the  helm  put  the  wheel  over  by  two  or  three 
spokes. 

"Steady!"  exclaimed  Greaves.  He  viewed  the  island 
through  the  glass.  "We  are  opening  the  reef,"  said  he;  and, 
taking  the  telescope  from  him,  I  instantly  discerned  the  sallow 
line  of  a  projection  of  rock,  with  a  dazzle  of  sunshine  coming 
and  going  along  the  base  of  the  formation  as  the  swell  rose 
and  sank  there. 

Deep  silence  fell  upon  the  brig.  All  hands  of  us — nay,  my 
beloved  Galloon  and  the  very  brig  herself — seemed  to  know 
that  in  a  few  minutes  the  cave  would  lie  open  before  us. 

And  a  few  minutes  disclosed  it.  I  viewed  the  picture  as 
though  I  had  beheld  it  before,  so  clearly  had  Greaves  painted 
it  in  his  description,  so  familiar  had  it  grown  by  frequent 
meditation.  Almost  abreast  of  us  now,  within  a  mile,  lay  a 
very  perfect  little  natural  harbor.  The  reefs  swept  out  from 
either  hand  the  island.  They  looked  like  piers.  They  needed 
but  a  lighthouse  to  have  passed,  at  a  glance,  for  roughly 
constructed  artificial  piers.  Within  their  embrace  lay  a  wide, 
smooth  surface  of  dark  blue  water.  A  flat,  livid  front  of  rock 
overlooked,  on  the  left,  this  placid  expanse.  Low  down  on 
the  right  of  this  rock  ran  a  herbless  and  treeless  beach,  without 
scintillation  as  of  sand  or  gleam  as  of  coral — a  dead  ground  of 
foreshore,  mouse-colored ;  a  sort  of  pumice,  with  a  small 
shelving  to  the  wash  of  the  water.  But  I  had  no  eyes  for  that 
beach  then,  nor  for  any  other  portion  of  the  island  saving  the 
vast,  sullen,  gloomy  fissure  which  denoted  the  entrance  of  the 
cave  right  amidships  of  the  tall  face  of  flat  rock. 

Greaves  let  fall  the  glass  from  his  eye.  He  swung  it  with 
an  odd  gesture  of  irritable  triumph. 

"Back  the  main  topsail,  Mr.  Fielding." 

I  instantly  delivered  the  necessary  orders  for  heaving  the  ship 
to.  The  men  sprang  out  of  the  bows,  and  rushed  to  the  braces 
and  clew  garnets  as  though  to  a  summons  which  signified  life 
or  death  to  them.  The  brig's  way  was  arrested.  She  came 
with  her  head  to  the  southwest,  bringing  the  island  upon  her 
starboard  quarter.     All  the  time,  while  I  sung  out  orders  and 


l66  LIST,   YE  LANDSMEN ! 

while  the  men  were  hauling  upon  the  braces,  Greaves  stood  at 
the  rail,  his  eye  glued  to  the  glass  that  was  pointed  at  the 
cavern.  He  turned  his  head  when  the  noise  about  our  decks 
had  ceased,  and,  observing  me  standing  at  a  little  distance 
regarding  him,  he  beckoned. 

"Look  for  yourself,"  said  he. 

I  brought  the  tube  to  bear  upon  the  cave,  and  for  some 
moments  saw  nothing  but  the  darkness  of  the  interior.  A 
singular  appearance  of  darkness  it  was,  burnished  to  the  gleam 
of  a  raven's  wing  by  the  silver-blue  atmosphere,  by  the  azure 
glory  floating  off  the  surface  of  the  natural  harbor  through 
which  I  viewed  it.  But  after  a  little  I  seemed  to  make  out  a 
sort  of  intricacy  of  pale  lines  in  that  gloom.  Well,  pale  I  will 
not  call  them.  They  were  of  a  lighter  hue  than  the  dusk  out 
of  which  they  stole  to  the  eye.  Then,  knowing  very  well  that 
that  complication  of  shadow  signified  the  spars,  yards,  and 
rigging  of  a  large  ship,  I  seemed  to  distinguish  the  form  of  the 
fabric ;  could  almost  swear  to  her  bowsprit,  to  the  tops,  to  the 
side  she  showed,  to  the  crosses  of  the  lower  masts  and  fore 
and  main  yards. 

"What  do  you  see?"  said  Greaves. 

"A  ship,"  said  I. 

"Oh,  you  have  no  doubt?" 

"I  should  have  plenty  of  doubt,"  said  I,  "if  you  had  not 
told  me  how  to  name,  how  to  define  that  bewildering  muddle 
of  shadow." 

"Give  me  the  glass!"  cried  he  suddenly,  with  a  change  and 
vehemence  of  voice  that  made  the  abrupt  note  of  it  wild  as 
madness  itself  to  my  ears. 

I  started,  gave  him  the  glass,  and  watched  him. 

"My  God!"  he  cried,  "I  fear  we  are  too  late." 

"Captain,"  called  Bol  from  the  gangway,  "dere  vhas  people 
valking  on  der  beach." 

The  telescope  fell  with  a  crash  from  Greaves'  hand.  He 
gazed  at  me  with  an  ashen  face.  "It  was  my  only  fear!"  he 
cried.     "Are  we  too  late?" 

"I  see  three  people,"  said  I,  after  looking  awhile.  "One 
of  them  is  a  woman." 

"Are  you  sure  of  that?"  he  shouted. 

"One  of  them  is  a  woman,"  I  repeated.  "Two  men  and 
one  woman.  I  see  no  more.  One  of  the  men  is  waving  his 
hat,  and  now  the  woman  is  waving  something  white — a  hand- 
kerchief.     They  are  castaways." 


GREAVES'   ISLAND.  167 

Greaves  snatched  the  glass  from  nie. 

"You  are  right,  I  believe,"  he  exclaimed,  after  looking. 
"What  should  a  woman  be  doing  in  a  salvage  or  wrecking  job? 
Yes ;  they  are  flourishing  to  us.  I  did  not  before  observe  that 
one  was  a  woman.  Get  a  boat  manned,  Mr.  Fielding,  and 
bring  them  aboard.  I  am  mad  till  I  learn  what  their  business 
is  there,  who  they  are,  what  has  brought  them  to  this  of  all  the 
hundred  rocks  of  the  Pacific." 

"Which  boat  shall  I  take,  sir?" 

"The  cutter.  Let  the  crew  go  armed.  Those  two  fellows 
and  the  woman  may  prove  a  piratical  decoy,  for  all  you  know. 
Mind  your  eye  as  you  enter  the  reefs,  and  hold  on  your  oars 
to  parley.  There  may  be  a  big  gang  in  ambush  round  the 
corner  at  the  extremity  of  the  flat  there." 

I  have  elsewhere  told  you  that  we  carried  three  boats — a 
little  one,  which  we  termed  a  jolly-boat,  stowed  in  a  big  one 
amidships,  and  abreast  of  these  boats  lay  a  third  boat  in 
chocks.  This  boat,  whose  capacity  rose  to  a  lading  of  from 
twenty  to  five-and-twenty  people,  w-e  termed  the  cutter. 
Tackles  were  swiftly  carried  aloft.  While  this  was  being  done 
the  fellows  who  were  to  man  her  armed  themselves  with  cut- 
lasses and  pistols.  The  boat  was  then  swayed  over  the  side, 
six  men  and  myself  entered  her,  and  we  headed  for  the  island. 

We  gained  the  entrance  of  the  natural  harbor,  and  I  bid  the 
men  pause  on  their  oars  while  I  looked  and  considered.  I 
gave  no  attention  to  the  singular  aspect  of  the  island,  nor  to 
the  wondrous  revelation  of  the  ship  in  the  vast  cave.  I  could 
think  of  nothing  but  the  three  people  on  the  beach.  Were 
they  decoys,  as  Greaves  had  suggested?  Was  there  a  crowd  of 
formidable  ruffians  somewhere  in  hiding,  close  at  hand  but 
ready  for  a  rush  when  the  moment  should  arrive?  I  gazed  care- 
fully around,  but  saw-  nothing  resembling  a  boat.  We  might 
be  quite  sure  that  there  w^as  no  vessel  in  the  neighborhood; 
the  island  was  small,  we  had  sailed  half  round  it  before  heav- 
ing to.  It  was  impossible  to  imagine  that  any  craft  with  masts 
could  be  lying  off  tlie  north  side  of  the  island  without  our 
having  caught  sight  of  her  as  we  approached.  But  then  it 
might  matter  nothing  that  no  vessel  should  be  in  sight. 
Likely  as  not  the  ship  in  the  cave  had  been  discovered  and 
explored,  in  which  case  the  discoverer  had  acted  as  Greaves 
had — sailed  away  for  a  port  to  re-embark  in  a  properly 
equipped  expedition ;  a  number  of  men  had  been  thrown 
ashore  to  work  at  the  caverned  Spaniard,  while  the  vessel  to 


1 68  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

which  they  belonged  to  went  away  to  put  the  horizon  betwixt 
her  and  the  rock,  lest,  by  hovering  and  lingering  close  to,  she 
should  invite  the  attention  of  anything  that  passed. 

These  were  my  thoughts  as  I  stood  up  in  the  stern  sheets 
staring  around.  But  the  woman?  Truly,  methought,  had 
Greaves  conjectured  that  fellows  engaged  on  such  an  errand 
as  this  of  clearing  the  Spaniard's  hold,  would  not  burden 
themselves  with  a  woman  ashore,  at  all  events.  No  noise 
came  from  the  island.  A  low  note  of  the  thunder  of  the  surf 
hummed  from  the  north  side,  a  great  number  of  sea  birds 
were  wheeling  about  in  the  air  over  that  northern  part  at  too 
great  distance  for  their  cries  to  reach  us. 

"Give  way,"  said  I. 

We  pulled  into  the  middle  of  the  harbor,  halted  afresh,  and 
now  we  had  a  good  view  of  the  three  people,  who,  throughout 
this  time  of  our  tardy  approach,  continued  to  flourish  to  us, 
but  without  calling.  The  two  men  were  apparently  forecastle 
hands — foreigners.  They  wore  grass  hats,  wide-brimmed, 
sombrero  fashion;  their  clothes  were  loose  blue  shirts  or 
blouses  and  blue  trousers;  they  were  barefooted;  they  were 
both  of  them  hairy  and  dark,  one  of  them  of  the  color  of 
coffee.  Their  hair  lay  upon  their  backs  in  a  snaky  shower, 
and  I  caught  a  glance  of  earrings  as  they  moved  their  heads. 

The  woman  I  could  not  very  clearly  make  out.  Her  gown 
was  of  some  pearl-colored  stuff — it  had  a  look  of  shot  silk,  but 
I  dare  not  attempt  any  descriptions  in  this, way.  She  wore  a 
large  white  hat  with  a  white  veil  coiled  round  the  crown  of  it, 
ready  for  dropping  over  the  face.  Some  sort  of  mantilla  she 
had  on.  She  was  a  tall  and  graceful  figure  of  a  woman,  and, 
as  she  stood  a  little  apart  from  the  men  I  observed  the  grace 
of  a  dancer  in  her  attitudes  of  entreaty,  in  her  gesticulations 
to  us  to  approach. 

We  pulled  closer  in  to  the  beach  upon  which  those  three 
were  standing.  One  of  the  men  cried  out  to  us,  the  other 
clasped  his  hands,  and  the  woman  stood  motionlessly,  gazing. 

"What  language  is  that?"  said  I. 

None  of  my  men  could  tell  me.  The  man  continued  to 
exclaim,  gesticulating  very  eagerly  and  wildly.  I  listened,  and 
thought  he  spoke  in  French. 

"Are  you  French?"   I  sung  out. 

"Spaniards,  senor,  Spaniards,"  he  answered,  in  Spanish. 

"Do  you  speak  English?" 

He  cried  back  that  he  understood  a  little  English. 


GREAVES'   ISLAND.  1 69 

"Are  there  others,  besides  yourselves,  on  this  island?" 

He  answered  "No." 

"What  are  you  doing  here?" 

"We  are  shipwrecked,"  he  answered,  but  in  an  accent  I 
cannot  imitate ;  the  spelling  would  be  meaningless  to  eye  and 
brain. 

"How  long  have  you  been  here?" 

He  held  up  his  right  hand,  the  thumb  pressed  into  the  palm, 
that  his  four  fingers  might  answer  my  question. 

Here  the  woman  exclaimed  in  Spanish.  Her  voice  was 
clear,  sweet,  and  rich.  It  came  to  the  ear  like  music  from  the 
beach.  There  seemed  no  harshness  of  shipwreck,  no  weak- 
ness of  privation  or  despair  in  it.  She  spoke  with  her  face 
directed  to  the  boat,  but  I  could  not  understand  one  word  she 
uttered. 

"Do  you  wish  to  be  taken  off  this  island?"  I  cried. 

"Yes,  senor,  yes,"  shouted  the  man  who  had  answered 
throughout.  "We  starve  here — we  die  here  if  you  do  not  take 
us  off." 

I  again  looked  very  carefully  about,  fearful  still  lest  some 
deadly  trick  was  intended,  but  could  see  no  sign  of  anything 
elsewhere  on  the  island  living  or  stirring.  All  was  motionless  ; 
nothing  came  along  with  the  wind  but  the  sound  of  the  cream- 
ing of  waters,  the  throb  and  hum  of  surf  at  a  distance. 

"Back  in,  men,"  said  I. 

We  got  the  boat  stern-on  to  the  beach.  It  was  like  a  lake 
for  the  quiet  lipping  of  the  water  there.  The  men  held  their 
places  on  the  thwarts,  ready  at  the  instant  of  a  cry  to  give 
way. 

"Come,  madam,"  said  I  to  the  lady. 

She  approached,  comprehending  my  gesture.  I  took  her  by 
the  hands  and  helped  her  to  spring  over  the  stern  ;  then  seated 
her.  The  two  men  jumped  in,  and  we  shoved  off.  I  looked 
back  and  around  as  we  pulled  away  for  the  opening  betwixt 
the  reefs.     Nothing  stirred. 

The  woman  had  very  fine  features.  Her  eyes  were  large, 
dark,  and  full  of  fire ;  her  complexion  a  very  delicate,  pale 
olive;  her  mouth  small  and  firm.  Indeed,  her  mouth  wanted 
but  a  corresponding  and  helping  expression  of  sweetness  and 
of  tenderness  in  the  other  lineaments  to  be  a  lovely  feature. 
She  was  clearly  a  lady.  Her  hands  were  small — models  of 
hands  to  the  finger-tips;  her  hair  was  extraordinarily  thick, 
plentiful  beyond  anything  I  ever  saw  in  a  woman,  and  of  a 


lyo 


LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 


rich  dead  blackness.  She  wore  a  pair  of  long  gold  earrings, 
bulb-shaped,  with  a  ball  at  each  extremity  in  which  sparkled  a 
little  star  of  diamonds.  Some  rings,  too,  she  had — one  on  the 
forefinger  of  her  right  hand  was  a  cross,  formed  of  a  sort  of 
dark  stone  set  upon  gold,  probably  a  signet  ring.  No  other 
jewelry  did  she  carry.  Her  clothes  were  of  some  rich  stuff, 
but  I  could  not  give  a  name  to  the  material  ;  a  magically 
contrived  combination  of  dyes,  swiftly  blending  and  alternat- 
ing with  every  move,  and  cheating  the  eye  kaleidoscopically — 
the  product  of  some  Asiatic  loom,  an  art  that  may  have  ceased 
as  an  art,  and  that  has  been  extinguished  by  the  neglect  of 
taste.  So  much  for  my  observations  of  this  Spanish  lady 
while  we  were  making  for  the  brig. 

I  found  nothing  remarkable  in  the  two  seamen.  One  had  a 
pinched  look  ;  he  was  hollow  in  the  eyes,  and  an  expression  of 
fear  lay  on  his  face.  In  appearance  they  answered  to  the 
beachcomber  of  the  present  day.  They  were  hairy,  dirty,  and 
wild.  A  small  silver  crucifix  gleamed  in  the  moss  upon  the 
chest  of  the  fellow  who  spoke  English. 

I  had  no  time  to  ask  questions.  The  men  swung  upon  their 
oars  with  a  will,  and  the  brig  lay  scarcely  a  mile  distant.  I 
inquired  of  the  lady  if  she  spoke  English.  She  bent  her  fine 
eyes  very  wistfully  upon  me,  and  shook  her  head  on  the  Spanish 
sailor  explaining  what  I  had  said.  1  again  inquired  of  the 
fellow  who  understood  my  speech  if  there  were  others  upon 
the  island,  and  he  answered,  with  energy  and  with  passion, 
that  there  had  been  but  three,  as  though  he  understood  me  to 
refer  to  his  shipwreck.  I  asked  if  they  had  found  water  on 
the  island.  He  answered  "  Yes,"  and  pointed  to  some  cliffs 
past  the  beach,  where  stood  a  small  grove  of  trees  and  vegeta- 
tion, resembling  guinea  grass,  along  with  a  thickness  of  green 
bushes  coming  down  the  slope. 

But  now  we  were  alongside  the  brig.  I  helped  the  lady  up 
the  side  ;  the  two  Spanish  seamen  followed.  Greaves  called 
down  an  order  for  the  boat  to  keep  alongside,  and  for  two 
hands  to  remain  in  her.  He  then  approached  us,  holding  his 
hat  while  he  bowed  to  the  lady,  who  returned  his  salutation 
with  (I  slow,  very  stately,  elegant  gesture,  irreconcilable  with 
the  horrors  from  which  she  was  newly  rescued,  and  with  the 
distress  and  apprehension  in  which  she  must  continue  until  she 
reached  her  home,  wherever  tliat  might  be. 

"She  is  Spanish,  sir,"  said  I,  "and  understands  not  a  syl- 
lable of  our  tongue," 


THE   SHIP  IN   THE   CAVE.  171 

He  called  to  Jimmy  to  bring  a  chair  from  the  cabin,  and 
placed  it  for  her  in  some  square  of  shadow  cast  by  the  canvas. 
The  crew  of  the  brig,  saving  the  two  men  over  the  side,  were 
collected  in  the  bows,  and  talked  eagerly,  and  often  looked  our 
way  and  then  at  the  island.  Yan  Bol,  pipe  in  mouth,  towered 
among  the  men. 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

THE    SHIP    IN    THE     CAVE. 

Greaves  read  Spanish,  but  spoke  it  ill.  He  was  a  North- 
countryman,  and  was  without  musical  accents  for  soft  or  swell- 
ing or  voweled  tongues.  On  seating  the  lady,  he  looked  at 
her  and  pronounced  some  words  in  her  speech.  My  ear  told 
me  they  were  barbarous.  They  might  have  been  Welsh  or 
Erse. 

"This  man,"  said  I,  pointing  to  one  of  the  Spanish  seamen 
who  stood  near,  "understands  English." 

Greaves  was  about  to  address  the  sailor;  he  broke  off,  and 
beckoned  to  Bol.  The  lumbering  Dutchman  came  pitching 
aft  like  one  of  the  bum-bowed  boats  of  his  own  country  over  a 
swell. 

"Station  a  man  on  the  fore  royal  yard,  Bol,"  said  Greaves, 
"to  instantly  report  anything  that  may  heave  into  view." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

The  Dutchman  went  forward  again,  and  a  minute  later  the 
sailor  named  Meehan  ran  patting  aloft. 

"Fielding,  should  a  sail  be  reported  when  I  am  ashore," 
said  Greaves,  speaking  as  though  the  lady  and  the  Spanish 
seamen  were  not  present,  "fill  on  your  topsail  and  stand  away 
under  easy  canvas  in  a  direction  opposite  to  what  the  stranger 
may  be  taking.  Keep  your  eye  on  her,  and  haul  in  again  for 
the  island  as  she  settles  away.  Nothing  must  observe  us  hang- 
ing about  here  until  we  have  got  what  we  have  come  to  take. 
I  do  not  think  it  likely  that  anything  will  heave  into  view.  I 
give  you  these  directions  while  they  are  present  to  my  mind." 

I  replied  in  the  customary  affirmative  of  the  sea. 

"Now  for  our  friends,"  he  exclaimed;   "I  will  give  them, 
ten  minutes  to  make  sure  of  them."     He  looked  at  his  watch, 
and  turned  to  the   Spanish  sailors.      "Which   of  you   speaks 
English?" 


'»' 


'Me— Antonio.     I  speak  a  little  English,"  answered  the 
sailor, 


*" 


172  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

"Have  you  enough  English  to  make  me  understand  how  it 
comes  to  pass  that  you  are  on  this  island?  You  may  use  a 
few  Spanish  words." 

The  Spaniard  told  this  story.  Their  ship  was  La  Diaiia. 
They  had  sailed  from  Acapulco — the  date  of  their  departure 
escapes  me.  Their  ship  was  bound  to  Cadiz.  She  was  a  rich 
ship,  and  a  vessel  of  six  hundred  tons.  A  few  passengers 
went  in  the  cabin,  and  her  company  of  working  hands,  from 
captain  to  boy,  numbered  thirty-eight  souls.  They  steered 
sti'aight  south  down  the  meridian  of  ioo°  W.,  and  all  went 
well  till  they  were  in  about  3*^  S.  of  the  equator,  when  a  hurri- 
cane struck  the  ship.  Neither  I  nor  Greaves  could  clearly 
understand  from  the  man's  recital  what  then  happened.  The 
memory  of  suffering  and  horror  worked  him  into  passion.  He 
talked  in  Spanish,  forgot  that  he  was  talking  to  us,  addressed 
the  lady,  who  frequently  sighed  and  moaned  and  lifted  her 
eyes  to  heaven,  while  the  other  Spanish  sailor,  holding  his 
clenched  fists  a  little  forward  of  his  hips,  shook  them,  nodding 
his  head  with  a  miserable,  convulsed  grin  of  temper,  and  hor- 
ror, and  tears. 

We  gathered  that  the  ship's  masts  were  swept  out  of  her, 
that  most  of  the  seamen  made  off  in  the  boats,  that  the  captain 
ordered  Antonio  and  his  companion,  whose  name  was  Jorge, 
together  with  other  seamen,  to  enter  a  boat  to  receive  the 
passengers.  This  we  understood.  Then  it  seemed  that 
though  Jorge  and  Antonio  got  into  the  boat  that  lay  lifting 
and  beating  alongside,  threatening  to  scatter  in  staves  at  every 
moment,  others  of  the  crew  did  not  follow.  A  lady  was 
handed  down — "the  Senorita  Aurora  de  la  Cueva, "  said 
Antonio,  with  a  nod  of  his  head  in  the  direction  of  the  young 
lady — and  scarcely  had  the  two  fellows  grasped  her  when  the 
boat's  line  parted  and  the  fabric  blew  away. 

What  followed  was  just  the  old-world,  well-worn  story  of  a 
couple  of  days  and  a  couple  of  nights  of  suffering  in  an  open 
boat.  Often  has  this  form  of  misery  been  described;  and  a 
changeless  condition  of  ocean  life  it  must  ever  be,  let  the 
marine  transformations  of  the  coming  ages  be  what  they  may. 
jThey  fell  in  with  Greaves'  island.  A  heave  of  swell  was 
running  from  the  west;  the  two  fellows  were  half  dead  with 
thirst  and  with  the  fear  of  dying.  Spineless  creatures  they 
looked.  If  they  Avere  examples  of  the  fellows  who  fought  us  at 
St.  Vincent  and  Trafalgar,  what  was  there  in  the  victories  of 
our  beef-fed  pigtails  to  brag  about?     They  aimed  for  a  head 


THE   SHIP  IN    THE    CAVE.  I73 

of  reef  to  spring  ashore,  dragging  the  lady  with  them,  heed- 
less of  their  boat,  the  wretches,  thinking  only  of  a  drink  of 
water,  and  the  boat  went  to  pieces  while  they  staggered  in- 
land. 

Here  Antpnio  swore  horribly  in  Spanish.  He  smote  his 
hands  together,  squinted  fiercely  at  Jorge,  and  abused  him 
with  a  torrent  of  words.  The  other  hung  his  head  and  occa- 
sionally shrugged  his  shoulders.  The  lady  kept  her  fine  eyes 
fastened  upon  me.  Her  face  worked  slightly  in  sympathy 
with  the  speech  of  Antonio  when  he  spoke  in  Spanish,  and 
occasionally  she  sighed  and  moaned  low;  but  her  eyes  rarely 
left  my  face.  Never  before  had  I  been  honored  by  the  intent 
regard  of  eyes  so  liquid,  so  beautiful,  so  full  of  fire,  eyes 
whose  lightest  glance,  when  all  was  well  with  the  owner,  could 
hardly  fail  to  be  impassioned. 

"Who  is  this  lady?"  said  Greaves,  breaking  in  upon 
Antonio, 

The  man  again  pronounced  her  name. 

Greaves  said:   "She  was  a  passenger?" 

"With  her  mother,  my  captain.  Both  were  proceeding  to 
Cadiz  for  Madrid." 

"With  her  mother!  Then  she  is  separated  from  her  mother 
by  the  shipwreck?" 

"The  boat  would  have  received  the  mother,  but  the  line 
parted." 

"Did  the  people  you  left  behind  perish,  think  you?" 

Antonio  replied  with  a  shrug. 

"You  have  been  four  days  on  the  island,  I  understand,  and 
there  is  water  in  abundance?" 

"There  is  good  water  among  those  trees,"  said  the  Span- 
iard, pointing. 

"And  what  food  have  you  met  with?" 

He  succeeded,  with  much  difficulty,  in  making  us  understand 
that  they  had  lived  upon  terrapin,  crabs,  and  iguanas. 

"Did  you  get  fire  for  dressing  your  food?" 

Antonio  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  produced  a  little 
burning-glass. 

"Fielding,"  said  Greaves,  "I  am  going  ashore.  Look  to 
the  brig  and  see  to  the  lady.  Take  her  below;  let  Jimmy  put 
meat  and  wine  upon  the  table.  There's  a  spare  berth  for 
her,  and  by  and  by  we  will  make  her  comfortable  and  keep 
her  so  till  we  can  dispose  of  her.  I  wish  she  were  not  here, 
though."     He  made  a  face.     "Go  along  forward,  Antonio, 


174  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

with  your  companion.     D'ye  see  that  big  man   there?     His 
name  is  Van  Bol.     Ask  him  to  feed  you.     Hold!" 

Antonio  and  his  mate  faced  about. 

"Did  you  go  on  board  the  ship  in  the  cave?" 

"What  ship,  senor?"  , 

"There  is  a  ship  in  that  cave,"  said  Greaves,  pointing. 
"Did  you  go  on  board  of  her?" 

The  man  placed  the  sharp  of  his  hand  against  his  brow  and 
looked  at  the  island. 

"I  know  no  ship — I  know  no  cave,  senor,"  said  he. 

"Go  forward  and  ask  that  big  Dutchman  to  feed  you," 
exclaimed  Greaves. 

"When  you  think  of  it,"  he  continued,  addressing  me  as 
the  men  walked  forward,  "they  would  not  be  able  to  see  the 
cave  when  on  the  island.  It  is  clear  that  they  did  not  notice 
the  ship  when  they  landed  on  the  reef;  they  were  too  thirsty, 
poor  devils." 

"And  how  could  they  board  the  ship  without  a  boat,  sir?" 
said  I. 

"True,"  he  answered.  "I  see  too  much.  Fielding.  I  put 
on  glasses  and  they  magnify  my  meat,  but  they  don't  cheat 
my  appetite.     See  to  the  lady." 

He  called  to  Bol  to  put  a  couple  of  lanterns  into  the  boat 
and  to  send  the  crew  of  the  cutter  aft,  and  walked  to  the  gang- 
way.    In  a  few  minutes  he  was  making  for  the  island. 

"Hail  the  masthead,  Bol,"  cried  I,  "aixl  ascertain  if  all  is 
clear  round  the  horizon." 

The  answer  fell  from  the  lofty  height  in  thin  syllables — 
there  was  nothing  in  sight.  I  beckoned  to  the  lad  Jimmy, 
who  was  standing  by  the  caboose,  and  bade  him  furnish  the 
cabin  table  with  the  best  meal  he  could  put  upon  it  and  to 
look  alive.  I  then  turned  to  the  lady,  and,  with  my  hat  in 
my  hand,  exclaimed: 

"Will  you  let  me  take  you  below?" 

She  viewed  me  anxiously.  Her  fine  eyes  made  a  passion  of 
even  a  trifling  emotion  in  her.  She  did  not  understand,  and 
so  I  had  to  fall  to  Robinson  Crusoe's  old  trick  of  gesticulating. 
Heavens,  how  doth  ignorance  of  another's  tongue  seal  the 
lips!  You  are  as  one  who  walks  dumb  through  many  lands. 
Had  this  poor  lady  had  power  of  speech  in  English,  or  could  I 
have  understood  her  Spanish,  how  would  she  have  given  vent 
to  her  full  breast?  I  could  see  in  her  lips,  in  her  eyes,  in  the 
movement  of  her  features,  how  grievously  was  her  heart  in 


THE  SHIP  IN   THE   CAVE.  175 

labor.  Yes;  in  her  face  worked  the  anguish  of  enforced 
silence.  I  pointed  to  the  cabin,  made  signs  of  eating, 
extended  my  hand  to  take  hers,  on  which  she  rose,  gave  me  a 
low  bow,  put  her  hand  in  mine,  and  I  led  her  through  the 
companion  way. 

Jimmy  had  not  yet  arrived  with  the  meal.  Still  holding  her 
hand,  to  deliver  myself  from  the  absurdity  of  gesticulating,  I 
conducted  her  to  a  berth  on  the  starboard  side  in  the  forepart 
of  the  living  room,  opened  the  door,  and  sought,  with  a  flour- 
ish of  my  fist,  to  make  her  understand  that  it  was  at  her 
disposal. 

"  Yrd  0  hard  muy  Men'' — It  will  do  very  well — said  she. 

I  afterward  understood  this  to  be  her  remark;  then  it  was 
darker  than  Hebrew.  In  fact,  I  thought  she  referred  to  the 
emptiness  of  the  berth.  The  bunk  was  without  bedding;  and 
that  bare  bunk  and  a  little  naked,  unequipped  semicircle  of 
wooden  washstand,  screwed  into  the  bulkhead,  formed  all  the 
visible  furniture  of  the  interior. 

I  knew  a  few  words  in  French,  and  tried  her  with  a  " Farlez- 
vous  Frajicais,  senorita?" 

"yW,  cabaliero,"  she  answered. 

I  made  a  step  into  the  berth,  and  motioned  toward  the  bunk 
and  the  washstand,  in  the  hope  that  she  would  be  able  to  col- 
lect from  my  contortions  that  I'er  comfort  would  be  presently 
seen  to.  She  inclined  her  head  and  slightly  smiled,  and  the 
flash  of  her  teeth  was  like  sunshine  betw'ixt  her  lips.  Again  I 
presented  my  hand,  and  she  gave  me  hers;  and  I  led  her  into 
the  cabin  where  Jimmy  was  now  busy.  Galloon  sat  upon  his 
chair,  watching  the  lad  lay  the  cloth.  He  pricked  his  ears  and 
growled  at  the  Spanish  lady.  I  shook  my  fist  at  him,  and  his 
eyes  languished,  though  his  ears  remained  pricked.  The  lady 
exclaimed  in  Spanish,  and  fearlessly  walked  round  to  the  dog 
and  patted  him.  Galloon  wagged  his  tail,  but  his  ears, 
remained  elevated,  as  though  one  end  of  him  was  in  doubt 
while  the  other  end  was  satisfied.  I  again  noticed  the  beauty 
of  the  lady's  hand,  as  she  laid  it  on  the  dog,  and  the  sparkling 
of  the  rings  upon  her  fingers.  Jimmy  breathed  fast  and 
grinned  much,  and  could  scarcely  proceed  in  his  work  for 
staring.  I  abused  him  for  a  lazy  cub  and  bade  him  bear  a 
hand. 

The  meal  was  spread.  I  motioned  the  lady  into  the  chair 
occupied  by  Greaves,  with  further  gesticulations  desired  lier 
to  help  herself,  and  poured  out  a  bumper  of  claret,  of  which 


176  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

wine  Greaves  had  laid  in  a  handsome  stock,  whether  at  Tulp's 
cost  or  not  I  could  not  say.  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  the 
self-control  and  dignity  of  this  lady  Aurora,  as  I  understood 
.  one  of  her  names  to  be.  Hungry  I  could  not  question  she 
was.  Tempted,  I  might  also  feel  sure  she  would  be,  by  the 
food  before  her  after  four  days  of  such  living  as  the  island 
beach  and  the  grove  of  trees  provided.  Yet  she  helped  her- 
self to  but  a  little  at  a  time,  first  crossing  herself  with  great 
devotion  before  lifting  her  fork,  then  eating  with  the  well-bred 
leisureliness  you  would  have  looked  to  see  in  her  at  her  moth- 
er's table.     But  the  silence  grew  momentarily  more  oppressive. 

"Jimmy,"  said  I,  "go  forward  and  bring  that  Spanish 
sailor,  Antonio,  aft  with  you,  unless  he's  still  eating." 

At  the  expiration  of  five  minutes  Antonio  followed  Jimmy 
into  the  cabin. 

"Have  you  had  plenty  to  eat?"  said  I. 

His  earrings  danced  while  he  nodded — he  wore  earrings  like 
those  you  see  on  a  French  fishwife — his  blood-stained,  dark 
eyes  searched  the  cabin. 

"A  very  good  ship — very  kind  men,"  said  he.  "When  do 
you  sail,  sehor?" 

"I   have  not  sent    for  you   to  question    me,"   said  I.      "I 

desire  you  to  interpret  my  speech  to  this  lady.     Tell  her " 

and,  in  few,  I  bade  him  inform  her  that  instructions  would  be 
given  for  her  cabin  to  be  comfortably  equipped,  and  that 
whatever  the  brig  could  supply  was  at  her  service. 

She  smiled  and  bowed  to  me  on  this  being  interpreted,  and 
then  addressed  Antonio,  who,  however,  found  himself  at  a 
loss,  and  was  ol)liged  to  act  to  make  me  understand.  He 
feigned  to  wash  his  face,  and  unnecessarily  passed  his  fingers 
through  the  length  of  his  hair,  and  tlien,  finding  words,  made 
me  understand  that  the  lady  was  weary,  that  she  had  slept  but 
little,  and  then  on  the  hard  ground,  and  that  she  would  be 
thankful  to  lie  down  and  sleej).  Thereupon  I  told  Jimmy  to 
convey  my  bedding  to  her  bunk,  also  to  place  one  or  two  toilet 
conveniences  of  my  own  in  her  cabin;  and,  after  waiting  to 
see  my  instructions  carried  out,  I  bowed  low  and  sprang  on 
deck,  with  my  mind  full  of  the  dollars  ashore,  wondering  like- 
wise what  Greaves'  report  would  be,  whether  the  dollars  were 
still  in  the  ship's  hold,  and  when  lie  meant  to  go  to  work  to 
discharge  the  vessel  of  her  silver. 

My  first  look  was  at  the  weather.  It  was  boundless  azure 
down  to  the  lens-like  brim  of  the  sea — not  a  feather-sized  wing 


THE   SHIP  IN    THE   CAVE.  177 

of  cloud — and  a  light  air  of  wind  with  just  enough  of  weight  in 
it  to  hold  the  backed  topsail  steady  to  the  mast.  I  looked  at 
the  island ;  the  boat  had  entered  the  cave  and  was  lost  in  the 
shadow.  I  picked  up  the  g'lass,  and  leveled  it;  the  dark  lines 
of  rigging  and  spar  were  faintly  discernible,  but  the  boat  Avas 
deep  in  the  dusk  and  not  to  be  seen.  It  was  the  ugliest  rock 
of  island  I  had  ever  viewed,  swart,  sterile — save  where  the 
trees  stood — gloomy,  menacing  with  its  suggestion  of  arrested 
fires.  A  few  terrapin,  or  land  tortoises,  crawled  upon  the 
beach.  Many  birds,  most  of  them  white  as  shapes  of  marble, 
wheeled  and  hovered  over  the  further  extremity  of  the  land 
with  frequent  stoopings  and  dartings,  like  our  gulls  over  a 
herring  shoal.  I  swept  every  foot  of  the  visible  surface  of 
land  with  a  telescope,  but  witnessed  no  signs  of  life  of  any 
sort.  Nevertheless,  the  two  long  arras  of  the  reef  strangely 
civilized  the  beach  and  the  face  of  cliff  where  the  cave  was,  by 
their  likeness  to  artificial  piers.  They  formed  a  very  perfect, 
spacious  harbor  in  which,  during  a  heedless  moment  or  two, 
I  caught  myself  looking  for  a  cluster  of  rowboats,  for  some 
group  of  shipping,  for  cranes  and  capstans,  for  men  walking, 
as  though,  forsooth,  I  gazed  at  the  piers  of  a  dock! 

How  it  had  come  to  pass  that  a  big  ship  of  seven  or  eight 
hundred  tons  should  have  backed  and  neatly  threaded  an  eye 
of  cave,  and  fixed  herself  within.  Greaves  had,  doubtless,  cor- 
rectly explained.  The  commander  of  her  had  stumbled  upon 
this  island  in  thick  weather;  or  he  may  have  found  the  island 
aboard  of  him  on  a  sudden  in  a  black  night.  He  had  a  reason 
for  bringing  up  in  the  shelter  of  that  harbor,  and  when  his 
anchors  were  down  it  came  on  to  blow  dead  in-shore.  The 
ship  dragged.  Her  stern  made  a  straight  course  for  the  open- 
ing in  the  cave.  Would  they  seek  to  give  her  a  sheer  to 
divert  her  from  that  entry?  No.  For  there  might  be  safely 
in  that  cave,  but  outside  it  was  certain  destruction.  To  touch 
was  to  go  to  pieces  against  such  a  steep-to  front  of  cliff  as 
that.  But  many  are  the  conundrums  submitted  by  the  ocean, 
and  victoriously  insoluble  are  they  for  the  most  part.  You 
may  theorize  as  you  will.      Nothing  is  certain  but  this: 

There  was  a  ship  ! 

While  I  waited  for  the  return  of  Greaves,  I  called  to  Bol  to 
get  a  cast  of  the  deep-sea  lead.  There  was  no  bottom  at 
eighty  fathoms.  I  had  expected  from  the  appearance  of  the 
island  to  find  a  great  depth  of  water  to  the  very  wash  of  the 


178  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

surf.  No  need,  therefore,  to  bother  with  our  ground  tackle. 
And  so  much  the  better!  Nothing  like  having  your  ship  under 
control  when  the  land  is  aboard.  With  an  offing  of  a  mile  it 
would  be  easy  to  "ratch"  clear  any  point  of  the  island,  even 
should  it  come  on  to  blow  with  hurricane  power;  then  it  would 
be  up-helm  and  a  brief  run  for  it,  and  a  heave-to  till  the 
weather  mended. 

The  two  Spanish  sailors  sat,  Lascar  fashion,  against  the 
caboose.  They  sucked  alternately  at  a  short  pipe  which  one 
of  them  had  probably  borrowed.  When  the  lead-line  was 
coiled  away,  Yan  Bol  rolled  up  to  me  and  said  in  his  voice  of 
thunder,  but  very  civilly: 

"Dot  vhas  a  scare." 

"What  was  a  scare?"  said  I. 

He  leveled  a  massive  forefinger  at  the  two  Spaniards.  I 
nodded.  "Der  captain  vhas  some  time  gone, "  said  he.  "I 
hope  no  man  vhas  before  her." 

"And  that's  my  hope." 

"Hov\'  many  cases  of  dollars  might  der  be,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"I  don't  know." 

He  looked  as  if  he  did  not  believe  me,  and  said,  "Veil, 
der  more,  der  better  for  Mynheer  Tulp  und  oders."  He 
paused  upon  this  word,  oders.  I  gazed  at  the  island.  "Der 
more  der  better,  certainly,"  continued  he,  "yet  dey  vhas  not  so 
plentiful  but  dot  efery  dollar  might  be  shipped  before  dark. 
Tell  me  dey  vhas  plentiful  some  more  dan  dot,  and,  by  Cott, 
Mr.  Fielding,  der  crew's  share  vhas  as  a  flea  upon  der  dog 
dot  scratch  her." 

"My  name  is  Fielding,  not  Greaves,  Yan  Bol,"  said  I. 

"Oh,  yaw,  dot  vhas  right.  But  I  likes  to  tink  aloud  some- 
times, Mr.  Fielding." 

"Are  not  you  satisfied?"  cried  I,  suddenly  rounding  upon 
him  and  looking  him  full  in  the  face. 

"Perfectly  satisfied,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"Then  why,  by  that  devil  who  always  seems  to  be  busy  in 
ship's  forecastles,  come  you  to  me  now  with  your  growlings 
and  your  questions  and  your  dots,  and  your  Cotts  and  your 
dollars,  Yan  Bol." 

"Growlings — questions!  I  likes  to  know  vhen  we  get  der 
dollars  on  board  und  make  sail,  dot  vhas  all." 

"Strike  a  light  with  your  eyes  and  keep  a  lookout  for  your- 
self, and  hail  the  fore  royal  yard,  will  ye,  and  receive  the 
man's  report." 


THE   SHIP  IN    THE   CAVE.  179 

He  went  forward,  and  his  roaf  swept  straight  aloft  like  a 
blast  from  the  mouth  of  the  cannon.  There  was  nothing  in 
sight  at  sea,  the  man  called  down.  I  looked  toward  the  island 
and  saw  the  boat  at  that  moment  stealing  out  of  the  cave.  I 
mused  on  Bol  while  the  boat  swept  across  the  satia  calm  sur- 
face of  the  natural  harbor,  the  oars  swinging  like  lines  of  flame 
in  the  men's  hands.  Was  Bol  going  to  give  trouble?  It  was 
late  in  the  day  to  ask  that  question.  It  would  be  impossible 
to  rid  the  ship  of  him  on  this  side  the  Horn,  and  by  the  time 
it  came  to  t'other  side 

The  boat  arrived,  and  Greaves  rose  in  the  stern  sheets ;  he 
rose,  but  he  was  supported  too.  A  sailor  grasped  him  by 
either  arm,  and  he  was  helped  with  difficulty  over  the  side  of 
the  brig.  I  was  at  the  gangway  to  receive  him,  and  assisted 
by  seizing  his  hands  as  the  men  helped  him  to  climb.  He  was 
pale  as  milk,  and  his  mouth  was  drawn  with  pain. 

"What  is  the  matter?"   I  asked. 

"I  have  had  a  fall,"  he  said,  speaking  with  a  labored  breath. 
"I  tripped  and  drove  my  whole  weight  against  the  sharp  edge 
of  a  case  in  the  lazarette  of  the  ship  yonder.  I  wish  I  may 
not  have  broken  a  rib.     Help  me,  Fielding." 

I  took  him  by  the  arm,  and  Jimmy,  who  stood  near,  grasped 
him  in  obedience  to  my  gesture  by  the  other  arm,  and  together 
we  got  him  into  the  cabin  and  to  his  berth.  He  asked  for 
brandy-and-water  and  drank  a  tumblerful,  and  then  requested 
me  to  help  him  to  strip,  that  he  might  see  if  he  had  broken  any 
bones.  He  had  hurt  himself  over  the  right  hip,  and  the  skin 
was  somewhat  darkened  there,  but  the  ribs  were  unbroken. 
He  felt  over  himself  anxiously,  occasionally  groaning,  and  said: 

"No,  my  good  angel  be  praised,  the  bones  are  sound.  I  am 
in  torment  from  the  pain  of  the  blow.  That  must  be  it,  and 
it  will  pass — it  will  pass." 

"I  would  recommend  you  to  lie  perfectly  still." 

"No;  I  must  be  on  deck.  I  can  sit  and  keep  watch  and 
look  about  me  while  you  go  ashore." 

I  helped  him  to  dress,  and  he  seemed  unable  to  speak  for 
pain  while  he  put  his  arms  and  body  in  motion.  He  then 
asked  for  another  glass  of  brandy-and-water  and  sat,  saying  he 
would  rest  and  talk  to  me  for  ten  minutes. 

"Are  you  in  pain  when  you  are  still?"   said  I. 

"No.  I  was  too  eager,  and  consequently  careless,  pressed 
forward,  tripped,  and  should  have  set  fire'  to  the  ship  had  I 
swooned,  for  I  was  alone  and  the  fall  flung  the  lighted  lantern 


l8o  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

from  me,  and  the  candle  lay  naked  and  burning  among  the 
cases." 

"Lord,  how  suddenly  will  a  trifle  become  a  frightful  thing  at 
sea!"  said  I. 

"Where  is  the  Spanish  lady,  Fielding?" 

"In  her  berth,  and  perhaps  asleep,  sir." 

"Well,"  said  he,  after  a  pause,  "the  dollars  are  there." 

"I  am  glad  to  hear  it,  sir,"  said  I,  feeling  the  blood  in  my 
cheek,  for  I  own  that  the  news  worked  as  a  sort  of  transport 
in  me. 

"This  cursed  accident  will  hinder  me  from  superintending 
the  unlading  of  the  vessel.  .  You  must  undertake  that  job." 

"You  can  trust  me,  captain." 

"Up  to  the  hilt  I  do.  Open  that  drawer,  and  hand  me  the 
pocket-book  you'll  see."  His  extending  his  hand  to  receive 
the  book  made  him  wince.  "There  are  a  hundred  and  forty 
cases,"  said  he.  "You  will  take  slings  and  tackles  to  hoist 
the  cases  out  and  lower  them  over  the  side  into  the  boat. 
Be  careful  not  to  overload  your  boat.  The  money  may  be 
safely  transhipped  in  three  journeys;  so  divide  one  hundred 
and  forty  by  three  and  your  quotient  is  your  lading  for  each 
trip." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"Be  careful  with  your  fire.  I  split  open  some  of  the  boxes, 
as  I  told  you,  to  make  sure  of  their  contents.  Take  tools  and 
nails  and  battens  with  you  for  securing  the  riven  cases.  Be 
yourself  in  the  lazarette  while  this  is  doing." 

"Right,  sir.  Where  will  you  have  the  cases  stowed  aboard 
us?" 

"Oh,  in  the  lazarette.  I  was  prevented  by  my  fall,"  he 
exclaimed,  "from  examining  the  rest  of  the  cargo.  Do  you 
that  when  the  money  is  transhipped.  I  will  act  on  your  report 
if  the  weather  allows.  But  should  there  come  a  change  when 
we  have  got  the  money,  then  damn  your  cocoa  and  tin — we'll 
be  off." 

"Shall  I  remain  in  the  ship  during  the  trips,  or  take  charge 
of  the  boat?" 

"Take  charge  of  the  boat,  but  see  all  your  men  in  first." 

I  faintly  smiled,  for  here  was  a  direction  that  was  a  little 
particular,  methought. 

"Help  me  on  deck,  now.  Fielding;  and  then  go  to  work." 

I  thought  to  myself:  "It  is  no  time,  this,  to  speak  of  Yan 
Bol.     The  matter  must  stand." 


THE  SHIP  IN   THE   CAVE.  l8l 

He  leaned  upon  me,  and,  with  pain  and  difficulty,  gained 
the  deck.  All  the  men  but  one  had  come  out  of  the  l3oat,  and 
the  ship's  company,  saving  that  man  and  Jimmy  and  the 
fellows  at  the  wheel  and  masthead,  were  assembled  in  the 
gangway.  They  hung  together  in  a  little  crowd.  Impatience 
burnt  like  fire  in  them — impatience  and  expectation  and  anx- 
iety, now  complicated  by  the  injury  their  captain  had  met 
with.  When  we  made  our  appearance  they  stared  and  shuffled, 
one  and  all,  as  though  they  were  mutineers,  scarce  masking  a 
madness  of  bloody  intention,  and  about  to  make  a  rush  aft  to 
its  execution.  Is  not  the  insanity  that  drink  will  run  into  the 
veins  and  brains  a  sweet  little  cherub  compared  with  the 
demon  that  enters  the  soul  of  man  out  of  the  coin  of  gold  or 
silver? 

"Captain,"  cried  Yan  Bol,  "I  shpeaks  for  all  handts.  You 
vhas  not  hurt  much,  all  handts  hope?" 

"Not  much,  my  lads — not  much,  I  thank  you,"  answered 
Greaves,  whom  I  had  helped  to  seat  in  the  chair  Jimmy  had 
placed  for  him,  and  who,  while  he  remained  motionless, 
seemed  free  from  pain. 

"Captain,"  again  cried  Yan  Bol,  in  tones  like  to  the  noise 
of  breakers  heard  in  the  hollow  of  cliffs,  "again  I  shpeaks  for 
all  handts.     Vhas  der  dollars  safe?" 

"Yes,"  ansv\'ered  Greaves. 

The  men  roared  out  a  cheer — a  roaring  cheer  it  was.  It 
seemed  to  be  repeated  on  the  island  a  mile  off,  as  though  there 
was  a  crew  ashore  there. 

I  now  began  to  sing  out  the  instructions  which  Greaves  had 
given  me.  Pieces  of  planking  for  nailing  over  the  cases  were 
flung  into  the  boat;  lines  for  slings,  tackles,  tools,  lanterns, 
and  the  like  were  handed  down.  The  crew  took  their  seats, 
and  we  shoved  off,  followed  by  a  cheer  from  the  fellows  who 
remained  behind.  There  went  with  me  six  men — two  Dutch, 
the  others  my  countrymen.  The  drift  of  the  brig,  though  very 
inconsiderable,  owing  to  the  lightness  of  the  breeze  and  the 
apparent  absolute  tidelessness  of  the  sea,  had  veered  the  island 
a  trifle  southerly,  and  the  brig  lay  on  a  line  with  the  edge  of 
the  cliff  where  the  cave  was.  The  cave  was,  therefore,  hidden 
from  me.  I  stared  with  great  curiosity  at  the  island  as  we 
neared  it,  making  for  the  head  of  the  westerly  reef  to  round 
into  the  lake-like  expanse  within.  A  more  hideous  heap  of 
rock  shows  not  its  head  above  the  water.  The  cliffs  of  it, 
where  they  run  to  any   noticeable  altitude,  come  down  to  the 


l82  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

sea  in  twisted  masses.  You  would  have  thought  the  process  of 
this  island's  formation  had  been  arrested  at  some  instant  when 
the  red-hot  mass  of  it  was  writhing  and  pouring  into  the  ocean 
over  the  edges  of  its  own  heaped-up  stuff.  No  iceberg  ever 
submitted  a  more  fanciful  sky-line ;  but  its  toad-like  hue,  its 
several  hideous  complexions,  made  it  a  loathly  sight.  The 
spirit  shrinks  from  this  bit  of  creation  as  from  some  disgusting 
creature. 

The  cave  was  situated  in  the  highest  front  of  this  island. 
The  height  of  this  front  was  above  two  hundred  feet;  how 
much  above  that  elevation  I  know  not.  It  was  smooth  and 
sheer,  pumice-hued  like  the  beach  that  swept  from  it  into  the 
northeast ;  so  smooth  and  sheer  was  it  that  you  would  have 
said  it  had  been  split  in  twain  from  a  like  mass  that  had  fallen 
and  vanished.  Assuredly  some  enormous  convulsion  had 
gone  to  the  manufacture  of  that  prodigious  fissure  or  cave. 

We  pulled  through  the  opening  of  the  reefs,  and  I  headed 
straight  for  the  cave.  So  strong  was  my  excitement  that  it 
felt  like  a  sort  of  illness.  I  breathed  with  labor;  the  sweat  lay 
like  oil  in  the  palms  of  my  hands,  though  my  hands  were  cold. 
It  was  not  now  the  thoughts  of  the  money.  My  excitement 
was  no  dollar  madness  then.  I  was  oppressed,  to  a  degree  I 
find  incommunicable,  by  the  marvelous  picture,  as  I  was  now 
beholding  it  for  the  first  time,  of  the  big  ship  clothed  in  the 
dusk  of  the  mighty  tomb  into  which  she  had  backed  and  where 
she  had  brought  up.  I  had  had  no  leisure  for  the  sight  during 
my  first  excursion ;  had  but  glanced  at  it,  my  head  being  then 
full  of  the  shipwrecked  people  we  were  bringing  off,  and  of 
fancies  of  what  might  be  lurking  on  shore.  But  now,  our 
approach  being  leisurely,  the  expanse  of  water  to  be  measured 
considerable,  I  could  gaze,  wonder,  realize,  until  emotion 
grew  overwhelming  and  became  a  sensation  of  sickness  in  me. 

Were  you  to  split  a  big  stone  open  and  find  a  live  toad  in  it 
you  would  marvel.  Hundreds  would  assemble  to  view  the 
wonder,  and  a  poor  man  might  get  money  by  exhibiting  it; 
but  how  many  much  stranger  things  than  a  live  toad  imprisoned 
in  a  stone  would  I,  as  a  sailor,  exact  the  relation  and  sight  of, 
ere  admitting  that  half  the  sum  of  that  marvel  of  a  great  ship 
at  rest  in  a  huge  cave  was  approached? 

At  first  sight  the  fabric  looked  like  a  piece  of  nature's 
handiwork  as  it  lay  in  the  gloom  of  the  interior  it  had  miracu- 
lously penetrated.  It  looked,  I  say,  as  though  the  volcanic 
spasm,  which  had  shorn  the  lofty  cliff  into  its  bald  front  and 


IV£    TRANSHIP    THE  DOLLARS.  -  183 

wrought  the  prodigious  fissure,  had  contrived  the  hundred 
fragments  and  ruins  of  rocks,  the  splinters,  the  serpentine 
lengths,  the  massive  bulks,  the  pillar-shaped  fragments  into 
the  aspect  of  a  ship,  building  the  wonder  in  a  sudden  roar  of 
earthquake,  and  leaving  it  a  faultless  similitude. 

"Oars!"  cried  I. 

We  floated  forward  with  the  arrested  blades  poised  over  the 
water.  It  was  burning  hot ;  the  sun  stood  nearly  overhead, 
and  the  surface  of  this  strange  natural  harbor  shone  like  new 
tin,  tingling  in  fibers  and  needles  of  white  fire  back  again  into 
the  Ught  that  it  reflected.  We  were  within  a  musket-shot  of 
the  entrance  of  the  cave. 

"On  which  side  did  you  board,  men?" 

"To  starboard,  sir." 

"Give  way  gently,  and,  bow  there,  stand  by  with  your 
boathook." 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

WE    TRANSHIP    THE    DOLLARS. 

Although  the  hour  was  approaching  high  noon,  and  the 
day  very  glorious,  no  light  was  in  the  cave  beyond  the  length 
of  the  ship's  bowsprit.  A  wall  of  darkness  came  to  the  bows 
of  the  ship;  it  might  have  been  something  material,  something 
you  could  lean  against  or  stick  with  a  knife ;  the  daylight 
touched  it  and  made  a  twilight  of  it  at  the  mouth,  then  died 
out.  The  long  and  short  of  it  is — it  is  my  way,  anyhow,  of 
explaining  the  strange  thing — the  filthy  colored  scoriae,  the 
gloomy  masses  of  cinder,  pumice,  lava — call  it  what  you  will — 
were  unreflective ;  light  smote  the  stuff  and  perished,  or  was 
not  returned,  so  that  a  thin  veil  of  dusk  clothed  with  deepest 
obscurity  any  hollow  it  lay  in. 

The  water  brimmed  blue  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  and  then, 
at  a  few  boats'  lengths,  slept  black  and  thick  as  ink,  wholly 
motionless  this  day;  though  I  might  suppose  that  when  a  large 
swell  ran  outside  the  breakwaters,  the  smaller  swell  of  the 
harbor  put  a  pulse  into  the  black  tide  of  the  cave,  though 
without  weight  enough  to  stir  the  stern-stranded  ship.  Yet 
you  saw  much  of  her  when  you  were  still  on  the  threshold  of 
the  cavern.  Her  huge  bows  sprawling  with  head-boards 
loomed  out  of  the  darkness,  advancing  the  yellow  bowsprit  till 
the  cap  of  it  was  almost  flush  with  the  sides  of  the  opening. 
Had  the  jib  booms  stood,  they  would  have  forked  far  into  day- 


1 84  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

light  and,  perhaps,  long  ago  have  challenged  the  attention  of  a 
passing  ship,  and  brought  her  people  to  explore  the  Spaniard 
and  enrich  themselves.  Her  lower  masts  were  yellow,  and 
they  showed  ghastly  in  the  gloom.  She  had  immense  round 
tops,  black  and  heavy,  and  shrouds  of  an  almost  hawser-like 
thickness,  with  a  wide  spread  of  channels  and  massive  chain 
plates.  Most  of  the  yards  were  across,  and  squared  as  though 
the  machinery  of  the  braces  had  worked  to  the  music  of  the 
boatswain's  pipe.  Her  sides  were  tall;  she  carried  some 
swivels  on  her  poop  rail,  and  a  few  pieces  calked  with  tom- 
pions  crouched  through  a  half  dozen  of  ports,  like  motionless 
beasts  of  a  strange  shape  about  to  spring. 

To  look  up !  To  behold  that  lofty  fabric  and  complication 
of  mast  and  spar  and  rigging  soaring  to  the  dark  roof,  against 
which  the  topgallant  masts  had  been  ground  away  to  the  top- 
mast heads ! 

Be  seated  in  a  small  boat  alongside  a  ship  of  six  hundred  or 
seven  hundred  tons,  with  such  a  height  of  side  as  this  Span- 
iard had,  lifting  her  platform  of  deck  a  full  eighteen  feet  above 
the  water  for  the  eye  to  follow  the  ascent  of  the  lower  masts 
from ;  I  say  from  the  low  level  of  a  small  boat,  look  up  to  the 
altitude  of  the  starry  trucks  of  such  a  ship  as  this  Perfecta 
Casada;  if  you  be  no  sailor,  your  eye  will  swim  as  you  trace 
the  mastheads  to  their  airy  points.  To  an  immeasurable 
height  will  those  spars  seem  to  soar  above  you,  yea,  though 
they  rise  no  higher  than  the  cross-trees.  But  here  was  a  vast 
cave  in  which  a  great  ship — and  a  ship  of  seven  hundred  tons 
was  a  great  ship  in  my  time — could  lie;  and  in  this  cave  a 
lofty  ship  was  lying,  partly  afloat,  partly  stranded  ;  the  dark- 
ness in  which  she  slumbertd  magnified  her  proportions;  she 
loomed  upon  the  sight  as  tall  again  as  she  was,  and  half  the 
wonder  of  this  wonderful  show  lay  in  the  height  of  the  black 
ceiling  against  which  her  topmast  heads  were  pressed,  jamming 
her  into  the  position  she  had  taken  up,  as  though  a  shipwright 
and  his  men  had  dealt  with  her. 

The  atmosphere  struck  cold  as  snow  after  the  outer  heat. 
A  hush  fell  upon  us  as  we  floated  in,  with  the  bowman  erect 
ready  to  hook  on,  and  the  silence  was  horrible,  and  the  more 
horrible  for  the  sound  thrice  heard  in  the  hush  that  fell  upon 
us,  of  a  greasy  gurgle  of  water,  like  a  low,  villainous,  chuck- 
ling laugh. 

But  all  this  is  description,  and  it  takes  me  long  to  submit  to 
you  what  I  beheld  in  a  few  breathless  moments  of  wonder,  and 


IVB    TRANSHIP    THE   DOLLARS.  185 

awe,  and  admiration.  We  were  here  to  load  dollars,  not  to 
muse  and  marvel. 

"Sort  o'  ole  penguin  smell  knocking  round,  aint  there?" 
said  one  of  the  crew. 

"Only  a  Dago  could  have  managed  this  job,"  said  another. 
"Why  don't  Dagoes  stay  ashore?  Blast  me  if  even  a  Dutch- 
man would  have  made  such  a  muck  of  it." 

"Hold  your  jaw!"  I  roared,  in  a  rage;  and  my  cry  went  in 
an  echo  through  the  cave,  rebounding  as  a  billiard  ball  from 
its  cushion. 

What  is  more  diabohcally  and  instantaneously  fatal  to  senti- 
ment than  the  vulgar  talk  of  a  vulgar  Englishman?  A  Span- 
iard, an  Italian,  a  Portuguese,  a  Greek— blasphemes  in  your 
presence,  and  his  coarseness  adds  to  the  romantic  colors  of  the 
idealism  you  are  musing  on;  but  let  an  EngUshman  come 
alongside  of  you,  and  drop  an  //,  and  emotion  is  shivered  as 
by  a  thunderbolt. 

The  remarks  of  the  sailor  woke  me  up.  We  were  alongside 
the  ship,  and  the  fellow  in  the  bow  had  hooked  on  to  one  of 
the  huge  main-chain  plates.  I  crawled  into  the  channel,  and 
over  the  rail,  and  dropped  upon  the  deck.  It  was  like  entering 
a  vault,  and  there  was  an  odd,  damp,  earthy  flavor  in  the  air. 
I  wonder,  thought  I,  if  there  are  two  dead  men  in  the  fore- 
castle, locked  in  each  other's  arms?  But  why  locked  in  each 
other's  arms?  Ah,  why?  Fancy  will  give  body  to  wild  con- 
ceits at  such  a  time  and  on  such  an  occasion  as  this. 

I  stood  a  moment  at  the  rail ;  the  water  flowed  black  as  ink 
into  the  blackness  over  the^tern.  In  the  mysterious  twilight 
that  shrouded  the  ship,  her  decks  and  masts  looked  unearthly; 
it  was  hard  to  conceive  that  human  hands  had  fashioned  her, 
that  the  echoes  of  the  mortal  calker  had  resounded  through 
her.     I  thought  of  the  ship  in  Lycidas 

Built  in  th'  eclipse  and  rigged  with  curses  dark. 

Sternward  the  craft  died  out  in  gloom.  The  roundhouse, 
or  some  such  contrivance  of  deck  structure,  hung  in  a  swollen 
shadow  with  the  yellow  shaft  of  the  mizzen  mast  shooting 
straight  up  out  of  it.  I  seemed  to  catch  a  faint  gleam  of 
glass,  a  dim  and  ghostly  outline  of  doorway,  of  skylight,  of 
crane-like  davits.  The  deck  of  a  ship  viewed  at  midnight,  by 
the  light  of  froth  breaking  round  about,  would  shadowily  and 
glimmeringly  show  as  this  Spaniard  did  from  the  gangway  to 
the  taffrail.     But  forward  there  was  light ;  the  radiance  of  the 


1 86  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

day  hung,  like  a  sheet  of  blue  silver,  in  front  of  the  opening  of 
the  cave,  and  against  that  brilliance — compact  and  undiffused, 
like  the  light  upon  the  object  glass  of  a  telescope — the  bows  of 
the  ship  stood  out  in  indigo,  the  tracery  of  the  rigging  exqui- 
sitely marked  till  it  vanished  in  the  gloom  overhead. 

I  bade  one  man  remain  in  the  boat,  and  the  rest  to  come  on 
board  and  bring  the  lanterns,  tackles,  slings,  and  materials  for 
securing  the  damaged  chests  of  dollars.  I  then  lighted  one  of 
the  lanterns  and  walked  aft,  looking  with  the  utmost  curiosity 
around  me,  as  though  this  ship,  forsooth,  instead  of  being  a 
vessel  of  my  own  time,  was  coeval  with  this  cave,  and  but  a 
little  younger  than  Noah. 

The  dollars  were,  I  knew,  stowed  away  down  in  the  lazarette. 
This  queer  name  is  given  to  a  part  of  a  ship's  after-hold.  It 
is  a  compartment  or  division,  and  commonly  used  for  the 
stowage  of  stores  and  provisions.  The  hatch  that  conducted 
to  this  place  was  in  the  cabin.  I  entered  the  cabin — a  sort  of 
deckhouse — and  paused,  holding  my  lantern  high,  and  gazing 
about  me.  I  observed  a  row  of  cushioned  seats  or  lockers, 
three  or  four  round  scuttles  on  either  hand,  with  dim  oil  paint- 
ings let  into  or  framed  to  the  panels  between;  lamps  which, 
when  lighted,  might  shine  like  the  starry  crescents  of  the  poet, 
and  two  square  tables,  one  at  each  end.  The  hatch  was  open. 
I  descended  and  passed  through  a  'tweendecks,  black  as  ink. 
The  lantern  light  gleamed  along  a  corridor,  and  revealed  a 
short  row  of  berths  to  starboard  and  larboard.  And  now, 
passing  through  the  hatch  in  this  deck,  I  stood  in  the  laz- 
arette. The  floor  was  shallow;  tWere  were  numerous  stanch- 
ions, and  the  white  cases,  which  contained  the  dollars,  were 
stowed  between  those  upriglits.  I  approached  a  range  of  cases 
and  found  the  top  one  split  open.  I  squeezed  my  hand 
through  and  felt  the  dollars,  packed  in  large  rolls.  They  were 
as  rough  to  the  touch  of  the  finger,  with  their  milled  edges,  ^s 
any  big  surface  of  file,  and  cold  as  frost.  There  looked  to  be 
a  great  number  of  cases.  I  do  not  suppose  that  Greaves  had 
attempted  to  count  them.  He  abided  by  the  declaration  of 
the  manifest,  and  since  it  was  certain  the  cases  had  not  been 
meddled  with,  no  doubt  the  number  and  value  were  as  the 
manifest  set  forth. 

I  halted  inactively  here  for,  perhaps,  a  minute,  while,  with 
lantern  upheld,  I  ran  my  eye  over  the  cases.  The  silence  was 
horrible — no  dimmest  sob  of  water  penetrated,  no  distant 
squeak  of  rat  afforded  relief  to  the  ear.     But  here  were  th^ 


WE    TRANSHIP    THE  DOLLARS.  ■      107 

dollars!  They  were  now  to  be  secured,  got  into  the  boat,  and 
conveyed  to  the  brig.  I  called  to  the  men,  and  they  came 
below  with  the  battens  and  hammer  and  nails.  We  had  four 
lanterns  burning,  and  there  was  plenty  of  light.  In  a  few 
minutes  this  dead  vault  of  hold  was  ringing  to  the  blows  of  the 
hammers.  I  overhauled  the  cases  and  saw  that  every  split  lid 
was  carefully  repaired  before  ever  I  dreamt  of  suffering  a  box 
of  the  metal  to  be  lifted.  The  men  spoke  not  one  word, 
unless  it  were  an  "ay,  ay,  sir,"  in  response  to  a  call  from  me. 
They  chewed  and  spat  with  excitement,  hammered  and  toiled 
with  eagerness,  and  often  did  they  roll  their  eyes  over  the 
cases,  but  they  held  their  tongues.  When  the  last  of  the  boxes 
was  repaired,  slings  were  procured,  a  tackle  rigged,  and  I, 
standing  in  the  lazarette,  tallied  a  quantity  of  the  cases  on 
deck,  some  of  them  large,  and  holding,  as  I  should  have  reck- 
oned by  the  weight,  not  less  than  three  thousand  to  five 
thousand  dollars  apiece.  I  then  followed  the  men,  the  gangway 
was  cleared,  and  the  chests  lowered  by  tackles  into  the  boat, 
where  they  were  received  and  trimmed  by  three  of  the  crew. 

We  pulled  out  of  the  harbor,  deep,  but  not  perilously  deep, 
with  silver,  and  when  we  rounded  the  reef  I  spied  the  brig  at 
a  distance  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from  the  spot 
where  we  had  left  her.  They  had  wore  her  and  got  her  head 
round  on  the  -other  tack,  and  clapped  her  aback  afresh. 
There  was  a  fellow  stationed  on  the  fore  royal  yard;  I  see  him 
in  my  mind's  eye,  as  mere  a  pigmy  as  ever  Gulliver  handled, 
as  he  sat  jockeying  the  yard  in  the  slings,  one  hand  on  the  tie, 
his  legs  dangling,  and  the  loose  white  trousers  trembling,  and 
a  hand  to  his  brow  as  he  sent  his  gaze  into  the  remote  ocean 
distance.  The  sun  made  a  blaze  of  the  white  canvas,  and 
their  reflection  trembled  in  sheets  of  quicksilver,  deep  in  the 
clear  cerulean  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  vessel's  side. 

The  Blac/i  Watch  looked  but  a  little  ship  after  the  lumping 
fabric  in  the  cave.  Yes,  she  looked  but  a  little  ship  for  the 
hundreds  of  leagues  of  ocean  she  had  measured,  since  the  hour 
when  I  was  lifted  over  her  rail  nearly  dead  of  Channel  water. 
But  small  as  she  was,  she  sat  in  beauty  upon  the  sea;  the  long 
passage  had  not  roughened  her,  her  sides  showed  like  the  hide 
of  some  freshly  curried  mare  of  Arabia.  She  rolled  lightly, 
sparkles  leapt  from  her,  the  colors  about  her  deepened,  paled 
and  deepened  again,  and  fingers  of  shadow  swept  through  the 
blaze  of  her  canvas. 

As  we  approached   I  saw   Greaves  sitting  in  the   chair  in 


1 88  LIST,     YE   LANDSMEN ! 

which  I  had  left  him;  he  sat  under  a  short  awning.  There 
was  a  tray  upon  the  skylight,  and  bottles  and  glasses,  and  I 
guessed  he  was  eating  his  dinner.  I  looked  for  the  lady,  but 
saw  nothing  of  her.  Galloon  watched  our  approach,  seated 
like  a  monkey  upon  the  rail  with  half  a  fathom  of  red  tongue 
out.  Bol  and  the  others  and  the  two  Spaniards  were  congre- 
gated in  the  gangway.  The  big  Dutchman  waited  until  the 
boat  drew  close,  he  then  roared  in  a  voice  that  could  have 
been  heard  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  "Hurrah,  my  ladts! 
Tree  sheers  for  Capt'n  Greaves."  And  when  the  men  had 
cheered,  he  roared  out  again,  "Und  three  sheers  more  for  der 
dollars!" 

By  the  time  this  unwarrantable  uproar — but  it  was  scarce 
worth  correcting,  seeing  the  occasion  of  it — had  ceased  we 
were  alongside,  and  I  sprang  on  deck.  "How  have  you  got 
on,  Mr.  Fielding?"  called  Greaves  from  his  chair,  without 
attempting  to  rise. 

"Very  well,  sir." 

"How  many  cases?" 

I  gave  him  the  number. 

"Get  them  aboard  at  once,"  he  exclaimed,  "and  leave  them 
on  the  quarter-deck  till  all  are  shipped.  See  those  cases 
aboard,  and  then  step  aft." 

The  men  speedily  hoisted  the  cases  out  of  the  boat.  Yan 
Bol  was  conspicuously  forward  and  energetic  in  the  hand  he 
gave.  I  stood  near,  and  heard  him  say,  "I  vhas  pleased  mit 
der  Spaniards  for  leaving  dis  money.  Dere  vhas  house,  vife, 
beer,  bipes,  mit  songs  und  dances  in  dese  cases.  Cott,  vhat  a 
veight!  I  likes  to  find  more  ships  in  a  hole.  Vhat  drinks, 
vhat  larks  in  von  case  only." 

The  sailors  rumbled  with  laughter  at  the  fellow,  and  some 
of  the  Englishmen  eyed  me  askant  to  guess  my  mind.  I  was 
willing,  however,  that  Bol  should  run  on.  Greaves  was  near, 
and  able  to  hear  and  judge  for  himself.  When  the  last  case 
was  out  of  the  boat  1  walked  aft. 

Greaves  said,  "Send  your  boat's  crew  to  dinner,  and  let 
others  take  their  place  for  the  next  boat." 

"With  your  leave,  sir,  I'll  keep  the  men  I  have  just  returned 
with.     They  know  the  ropes  and  have  nothing  to  learn." 

"Be  it  so.  Send  the  crew  to  dinner,  but  let  them  bear  a 
hand;  and  you  can  make  a  meal  off  this  tray  here." 

There  was  food  in  plenty,  and  wine.  Having  told  the 
boat's  crew  to  go  to  their  dinner,  I  sat  down  with  Greaves, 


WE    TRANSHIP    THE   DOLLARS.  189 

and  ate  and  drank.  The  weather  continued  extraordinarily 
beautiful,  but  the  wind  was  failing,  long  glassy  lines  of  calm 
were  already  snaking  along  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  it  was 
fiercely  hot.  The  horizon  swam  in  a  film ;  you  could  have 
seen  ten  miles  in  the  morning,  and  not  five  miles  now  from  the 
deck.  No  sights  had  been  taken;  no  sights  were  needed  when 
there  was  an  island,  whose  situation  had  been  accurately 
observed,  close  alongside. 

"We  shall  have  the  dollars  aboard  by  four?"  said  Greaves. 

"Easily,    sir." 

"Do  you  believe  in  the  dollars  now.  Fielding?"  said  he, 
with  a  smile. 

I  answered,  "Yes,"  coloring,  and  asked  him  how  he  felt. 

"Easier,"  said  he;  "there  is  no  pain  when  I  sit.  A  severe 
bruise — no  more." 

"Yan  Bol  is  a  bit  forward  and  outspoken  for  a  foremast 
hand,  don't  you  think,  captain?" 

"He  is  a  Dutchman,  and  all  Dutchmen  are  cheeky.  The 
word  cheek  originates  with  the  Dutch.  Look  at  their  sterns  and 
look  at  their  faces,  if  you  want  the  etymology  of  the  word  cheek." 

"I  hope  he'll  remain  cheeky  only.  For  my  part,  I  don't 
feel  sure  of  the  man." 

"Too  late — too  late,"  said  Greaves  irritably  and  impatiently. 

"I  do  not  like  that  he  should  ask  me  the  value  of  the  treas- 
ure that  is  to  come  aboard,  and  I  do  not  like  that  he  should 
say  that  as  the  size  of  a  flea  is  to  the  size  of  the  dog  that 
scratches  it,  is  the  proportion  of  the  forecastle  share  to  the 
whole  of  the  money." 

"If  he  gives  me  trouble,"  said  Greaves,  "I  will  shoot  him. 
I  will  show  you  the  rising  moon  through  a  slug-hole  in  the 
devil's  skull.  But  do  not  accept  Yan  Bol  too  literally. 
Dutchmen  will  say  without  significance  that  which,  in  the 
mouth  of  an  Englishman,  might  sound  brutally  malevolent  and 
sinister." 

"That  may  be,  sir.     I  don't  know  the  Dutch." 

"I  have  made  up  my  mind  not  to  meddle  with  the  cargo. 
Do  not  trouble  to  examine  it.  The  money  will  be  risk  enough. 
Shrewd  as  old  Tulp  believes  himself  to  be,  and  really  is,  the 
anxiety  of  running  a  quantity  of  tin  won't  be  worth  the  pur- 
chase. If  the  cocoa  is  sweet,  bring  some  of  it  off  for  the 
ship's  use,  and  if  you  can  meet  with  the  four  casks  of  tortoise 
shell,  we'll  find  room  for  the  stuff.  Four  casks  are  easy  of 
transhipment,  but  the  rest  we'll  let  be." 


19°  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

This  was  good  sense.  It  must  have  taken  us  some  time  to 
break  out  and  tranship  the  tin  and  the  wool  and  the  hides  in 
hair.  The  smuggling  of  such  stuff,  on  our  arrival  home, 
would  have  taxed  even  the  many-sided,  hard-salted  cunning 
of  a  Dealman ;  and,  smuggling  apart,  without  papers,  how 
were  these  commodities  to  have  been  passed? 

I  allowed  the  boat's  crew  a  quarter  of  an  hour  for  their 
dinner,  then  summoned  them;  and,  not  to  repeat  the  story  of 
our  first  visit,  by  something  after  three  o'clock  that  afternoon, 
the  weather  still  holding  marveloii'^ly  radiant  and  all  the  wind 
gone,  I  had  tallied  the  last  of  the  cases  of  dollars  over  the  side 
of  the  Black  Watch,  along  with  some  crates  of  cocoa;  but  the 
four  casks  of  tortoise  shell  I  had  been  unable  to  meet  with. 
Whether  they  had  been  omitted,  or  stowed  in  some  secret 
place,  I  know  not.  Then,  for  an  hour,  I  was  busy  in  superin- 
tending the  stowage  of  the  cases  of  dollars  in  the  brig's  laz- 
arette.  While  I  was  thus  occupied,  Yan  Bol,  with  a  few 
seamen,  was  sent  by  the  captain  in  the  longboat  to  procure 
fresh  water  and  fill  up  with  terrapin  and  all  else  catchable  that 
was  good  for  the  saucepan.  The  Dutch  boatswain  made  two 
journeys  before  I  was  done,  and  was  gone  ashore  again  for 
more  water  and  turtle  when  I  arrived  on  deck  after  a  wash 
and  a  clean-up.     I  reported  the  dollars  stowed  to  the  captain. 

"Ninety-eight  thousand  pounds,"  said  he.  "It  is  worth 
the  venture,  I  think." 

"I  can  scacrely  credit  the  reality  now  it  has  happened  and 
all's  well,"  said  I. 

"There  are  many  men,"  said  he,  "who  would  be  willing  to 
be  pressed,  run-down,  half-drowned,  and  picked  up  for  six 
thousand  pounds." 

"Ay,  indeed,"  said  I;  "and  when  I  take  up  that  money, 
Galloon,  how  much  of  it  is  to  be  your  share,  dear  doggie?" 

"The  Spanish  lady  sleeps  well." 

"After  four  days  of  that  island!"   said  I. 

"What  is  to  be  done  with  her'  I  certainly  cannot  land  her 
in  a  Spanish  port.  It  will  end,  I  believe,  in  our  carrying  her 
to  England.  I  intend  to  court  no  unnecessary  risks,  and  I 
should  be  courting  a  very  unnecessary  risk  by  looking  close 
enough  into  a  port  to  land  her.  No;  she  will  sail  with  us  to 
England.  I  hope  she  is  amiable.  I  scarcely  noticed  that  she 
was  good-looking.  I  am  no  ladies'  man  —  I  do  not  care  for 
women;  and  the  deuce  of  it  is,  neither  you  nor  I  speak 
Spanish." 


IV£    TRANSHIP    THE  DOLLARS.  IQ' 

"She  is  a  woman  of  degree,"  said  I;  "has  fine  manners, 
fine  rings,  and  beautiful  hands." 

**You  may  have  found  a  wife  as  well  as  a  fortune  in  these 
seas,  Fielding." 

"Marry  a  Spanish  woman  for  money!"  said  I.  "Who'd 
lick  honey  off  a  thorn?" 

"And  why  would  not  you  marry  a  Spanish  woman,  money 
or  no  money?"  said  he.  "Do  not  you  know  that  the  best  and 
oldest  blood  in  the  world  runs  in  Spanish  veins?  You  seem  to 
sneer  at  the  mention  of  old  blood." 

"Not  at  all." 

"Give  me  old  blood  in  a  woman.  With  old  blood  you  asso- 
ciate all  the  elegances,  all  the  graces  and  aromas  in  the  bearing 
and  conduct  of  human  nature.  Vulgarity  makes  a  toad  of 
beauty  itself.  Think  of  Venus  saying  '  'Ave  done,'  and 
bragging  of  her  jewelrv." 

"What  is  a  lady?" 

"I  expected  that  question.  Cannot  you  define  what  any 
chambermaid  or  boots  can  distinguish ;  what  any  shopman, 
waiter,  poor  sailor  man  like  you  or  me,  can  instantly  recognize! 
Marry,  come  up.  What  is  more  teasing  than  the  question, 
'What  is  a  gentleman?'  Cocky  Mr.  Macaroni,  with  his  hat 
over  his  eye  and  his  hair  dressed  in  imitation  of  his  betters, 
says,  'Vat's  a  gentleman?'  and  the  beast  knows  the  thing 
every  time  he  sees  it." 

"How  is  the  pain  in  your  side?" 

"Well,  it  makes  me  wince  when  I  move  as  I  did  then. 
How  strange,'  said  he,  sinking  his  voice  and  looking  at  the 
island,  "that  I,  who  have  been  dreaming  of  galleons  all  my 
life,  should,  of  the  scores  whose  keels  have  cut  these  waters, 
be  the  one  chosen  to  light  upon  yonder  ship  of  dollars." 

"Shall  you  fire  her  before  sailing?" 

"No.  We  will  leave  her  for  the  next  man  who  may  come 
along — for  some  poor  devil  to  whom  a  few  serons  of  cocoa  and 
a  thousand  quintals  of  tin  may  be  what  the  Cockney  calls  an 
'object.'" 

The  sun  was  now  low,  and  the  west  was  on  fire.  The  sea 
came  like  blood  from  the  rim  of  the  western  line  to  midway  the 
ocean  plain,  where  the  fierce  light  drained  into  thin  blue  that 
went  darkening  into  melting  violet  eastward.  The  brig  had 
drifted  very  nearly  due  south  of  the  island,  opening  the  reefs, 
and  baring  the  harbor  to  our  sight,  and  disclosing  the  verdure 
that  clothed  a  portion  of  the  northern  rocks.     The  longboat 


192  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

lay  alongside  the  beach,  and  the  figures  of  her  people  came 
and  went.  I  thought  to  myself,  a  pity  if  Yan  Bol  and  his 
sweet  and  manly  fellows  don't  take  a  fancy  to  the  derelict, 
agree  among  themselves  to  attempt  to  warp  her  afloat,  and 
consent  to  remain  on  the  island  if  Greaves  will  give  them  the 
boat;  food  enough  they  will  find  in  the  ship  and  on  the  beach. 

Though  the  island  stood  steeped  in  the  red  light  of  sunset, 
it  reflected  nothing  of  the  western  splendor.  Grimy,  melan- 
choly, livid — an  ocean  cinder  heap  did  it  look  in  that  fair 
evening  radiance,  a  spadeful  out  of  Neptune's  dust  bin.  I 
picked  up  the  telescope  to  view  the  ship  in  the  cave  before  the 
shadows  closed  the  wondrous  object  out,  and  with  the  tracery 
of  the  spars  and  rigging,  dim  in  the  lens,  I  conceived  myself 
on  board.  I  imagined  the  hour  of  midnight,  I  heard  in  fancy 
the  distant  groan  of  surf,  I  heard  the  sobs  of  the  black  water 
within  the  cave,  a  faint  creak  from  the  heart  of  the  sepulchered 
vessel;  and  I  figured  fear  growing  in  me  even  unto  the  behold- 
ing of  apparitions,  until  a  shiver  ran  through  me  as  chill  as 
though  it  had  come  out  of  the  cold  hold  of  the  ship  herself. 

I  put  down  the  glass,  meaning  to  laugh  away  my  fancies  to 
Greaves,  and  beheld  the  lady  Aurora  de  la  Cueva  in  the  act  of 
rising  through  the  companion  way. 

Though  Greaves  and  I  had  only  just  now  been  talking  about 
her,  I  stared  as  though  I  had  not  known  she  was  aboard.  It 
was  indeed  strange,  after  all  the  months  of  Greaves  and  Yan 
Bol  and  the  Dutch  and  English  beauties  forward,  to  find  a 
woman  in  the  brig;  to  see  a  fine,  handsome,  sparkling-eyed  girl 
stepping  out  of  the  cabin  as  though  she  had  been  there  from  the 
hour  of  leaving  the  Downs,  but  secret.  She  bowed,  I  lifted  my 
cap,  Greaves  struggled  to  his  feet  with  his  face  full  of  pain.  I 
begged  him  to  sit,  and  ran  below  for  a  chair,  which  I  placed 
near  his  for  the  lady  Aurora.  She  had  found  out  that  he  was 
in  pain,  that  he  had  met  with  an  accident,  and  was  addressing 
him  as  I  put  her  chair  down,  her  large,  Spanish,  glowing  eyes 
very  wistfully  fastened  upon  his  face.  He  understood  her, 
for,  as  I  have  told  you,  Greaves  read  Spanish  indifferently 
well,  and  faintly  understood  it  when  spoken,  but  he  wanted 
words  and  could  not  utter  the  few  he  possessed.  He  smiled 
and  touched  his  hat,  and  then  pointed  to  the  island. 

It  was  not  for  me  |to  linger  near  them.  I  went  to  the  rail 
and  watched  the  boat  and  the  movements  of  the  fellows  upon 
the  beach,  but  I  also  found  several  opportunities  in  this  while  for 
observing  the  lady  Aurora.     She  had  slept  and  was  refreshed. 


WE    TRANSHIP    THE   DOLLARS.  193 

The  fine,  delicate,  transparent  olive  of  her  complexion — I 
may  say  it  was  a  very  pale  olive,  well  within  the  compass  of 
the  admiration  of  those  whose  love  is  for  the  white  and  yellow 
part  of  the  sex — was  touched  slightly  with  bloom  as  from 
recent  slumber.  Her  eyes  were  large  and  splendid  with  light, 
remarkable  for  their  long  lashes,  and  of  a  shade  that  made  you 
think  of  the  sea  at  night,  black  and  luminous,  their  depths 
filled  with  wandering  fires  as  she  struggled  with  the  oppression 
of  silence  or  gazed  at  you  as  though  she  would  speak.  Her 
nose  was  slightly  Jewish,  rather  small  than  big  for  her  face,  the 
nostrils  the  daintiest  piece  of  graving  I  ever  saw  in  that  way. 
Her  teeth  were  very  good,  st-rong  and  white,  a  little  large. 
The  quality  of  her  clothes  might  have  been  very  grand;  one 
would  judge  of  that  perhaps  by  the  rings,  for  this  sort  of  thing 
goes  on  all  fours  as  a  rule;  but  the  fit  or  fashion  was  mon- 
strously vile  to  my  taste.  You  guessed  that  underlying  all 
that  spread  and  sprawl  of  skirt  and  bodice  there  sat,  or  stood, 
or  reposed  the  figure  of  a  Hebe.  Hints  of  secret  perfections 
there  were  in  plenty ;  but  all  grace  of  shape  was  overwhelmed 
by  the  cut  of  her  gown;  it  stood  upon  her  like  a  candle  extin- 
guisher, and  in  shape  was  not  even  fit  for  a  nun. 

"I  am  unable  to  understand  the  lady.  Fielding,"  exclaimed 
Greaves.      "Is  Antonio  forward?" 

i  spied  the  Spaniard  leaning  over  the  bows  looking  toward 
the  island.  He  had  gone  away  in  the  boat  on  the  first  journey 
to  show  the  men  where  the  water  was.  On  her  return  with  her 
freight  of  fresh  water,  he  had  crept  over  the  side  and  sneaked 
forward  to  loaf  and  lounge  and  smoke  in  Jack  Spaniard  fash- 
ion. How  did  I  know  this?  Because  I  knew  that  Antonio 
had  been  sent  in  the  boat  to  point  out  the  spring,  and  his 
lounging  in  the  bows  with  a  pipe  betwixt  his  lips  iwzv,  while 
the  boat  was  ashore  and  the  men  busy,  told  me  the  little  yarn 
of  loafing  from  start  to  finish. 

I  called,  and  he  put  his  pipe  in  his  pocket  and  came  aft, 

"Interpret  what  this  lady  says,"  exclaimed  Greaves. 

She  poured  forth  some  sentences  of  Spanish.  I  could  trace 
no  fatigue,  no  reactionary  debility,  such  as  might  attend  the 
strain  and  passion  of  deliverance  from  peril  tremendous  above 
all  words  to  her  as  a  woman. 

"The  sefiorita,"  translated  Antonio  in  effect — but,  as  I  have 
before  said,  I  will  not  attempt  a  written  description  of  his 
articulation  or  phrases;  I  write  that  he  may  be  intelligible — 
"wishes  to  know  how  long  you  intend  to  remain  in  this  situ  a- 


194  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

tion,  and  to  what  part  of  the  world  you  are  proceeding  when 
you  sail?" 

"To  England!"  cried  the  lady,  when  Antonio  had  made 
answer  out  of  the  mouth  of  Greaves.  "  Sanla  Maria  piiris- 
shna  !  How  shall  I  find  my  mother?  If  she  has  been  rescued 
she  will  have  been  conveyed  to  some  port  on  the  South  Ameri- 
can coast,  whence  she  will  return  to  Acapulco,  and  there  await 
news  of  me.  To  England!  Ave  Maria!  The  world  will 
then  divide  me  from  my  mother.  Blessed  Viigin!  I  did  think 
this  ship  was  proceeding  to  a  South  American  port.  To  Eng- 
land!    I  shall  never  see  my  mother  again." 

She  exclaimed  awhile  in  this  sort  of  language,  but  untheat- 
rically.  Nay,  there  was  a  dignity  in  her  astonishment  and 
concern;  very  little  tossing  of  hands  and  uprolling  of  eyes. 
The  main  article  in  the  outward  expression  of  her  grief  and 
alarm  lay  in  the  piteous  look  she  fastened  on  me,  as  though 
she  would  rather  appeal  to  me  than  to  the  captain ;  as  though, 
indeed,  she  considered  that  since  I  was  the  first  to  take  her  by 
the  hand  on  the  island,  and  to  bring  her  off  from  a  situation 
of  horror,  she  was  entitled  to  look  to  me  for  all  further  kind- 
nesses. 

"The  senorita's  mother,"  said  Greaves,  "was,  of  course, 
rescued,  and  is,  no  doubt,  safe  and  well?"  Antonio  turned 
his  back  upon  the  lady  that  she  might  not  see  him  squint,  and 
he  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "But  we  have  no  right  to  sup- 
pose," continued  Greaves,  looking  sternly  at  the  Spaniard, 
"that  the  ship  which  rescued  the  seftora  conveyed  her  to  a 
port  whence  she  could  easily  reach  Acapulco.  On  the  con- 
trary, in  all  probability  the  ship  was  bound  round  the  Horn, 
in  which  case  the  lady  may  be  now  on  her  way  to  Europe." 

Antonio  translated ;  the  lady  Aurora  gazed  at  him  somewhat 
passionately,  and  beat  the  air  with  a  gesture  of  irritation, 
clearly  unable  to  collect  tiie  captain's  meaning  from  the  fel- 
low's interpretation  of  it.  Antonio  talked  much  and  gesticu- 
lated with  singular  energy.  The  lady  then  appeared  to 
comprehend. 

"She  says  that  her  mother  is  rich,"  said  Antonio,  "and  is 
well  known  as  the  widow  of  Don  Alonzo  de  Cueva,  the  mer- 
chant of  Lima.  She  will  pay  liberally  to  be  conveyed  to 
Acapulco,  where  she  has  a  brother  who  is  a  priest.  She  will 
return  t6  Acapulco  because  she  is  sure  to  believe  that  the 
senora,  her  mother,  will  seek  her  there." 

"Tell  the  lady,"  said  Greaves,  "that  I  am  truly  sorry  not 


WE    TRANSHIP    THE   DOLLARS.  195 

to  be  able  to  put  her  ashore  at  any  port  where  she  would  be 
within  easy  reach  of  Acapulco.  When  I  have  filled  my  water 
casks  I  am  proceeding  to  England  as  straight  as  the  rudder  can 
steer  the  ship,  touching  nowhere,  and  giving  everything  that 
passes  plenty  of  room.  Yet  this  tell  her,  likewise,  that  on  our 
way  to  England  we  may  chance  to  fall  in  with  a  vessel  bound 
to  a  port  on  this  side  the  South  American  coast.  Should  we 
fall  in  with  such  a  vessel,  I  will  transfer  the  lady  to  her." 

He  spoke  slowly,  with  the  deliberateness  of  a  man  who  is  in 
pain  while  he  discourses.  Antonio  made  shift  to  render  the 
captain's  words  intelligible  to  the  lady.  She  asked,  through 
the  Spanish  seaman,  what  Captain  Greaves  would  charge  to 
put  her  ashore  at  Lima  or  Valparaiso. 

"It  is  not  to  be  done,"  said  Greaves;  "beg  her  not  to 
repeat  that  request." 

She  seemed  to  gather  the  matter  of  his  speech  by  his  man- 
ner. Her  eyes  came  to  mine,  earnest,  pleading,  with  a  deeper 
shadow  in  their  dark  depths  as  though  tears  were  not  far  off. 
It  was  a  look  that  made  me  curse  my  ignorance  of  the  Spanish 
tongue.  Much  could  I  have  said  to  comfort  and  hearten  her; 
but  though  I  had  been  able  to  talk  as  fluently  as  she,  it  was  not 
for  me  to  intrude  then.  I  was  mate,  and  Greaves  was  captain; 
and  I  stood  at  the  rail  seeming  to  watch  the  island  as  it  black- 
ened to  the  fading  crimson  light,  and  to  be  keeping  a  lookout 
for  the  return  of  the  longboat. 

"Was  not  the  lady's  mother  proceeding  to  Madrid?"  said 
Greaves. 

"Yes,  capitan,"  ansAvered  Antonio. 

"If  the  vessel  which  may  have  picked  her  up  is  going  that 
way,  why  should  she  desire  to  return  to  Acapulco?" 

"You  have  heard,  my  capitan,  that  the  senorita  believes  her 
mother  will  return  to  Acapulco  and  wait  for  her  there." 

"How  is  the  mother  to  know  that  the  daughter  is  alive?" 

Again  Antonio  squinted  fiercely  and  shrugged. 

"Is  there  reason  to  suppose  that  the  widow  imagines  her 
daughter  is  saved?  Is  there  reason  to  believe  that  the  widow 
herself  is  saved?  Supposing  her  to  have  been  picked  up  by  a 
ship  bound  south,  why  should  not  she  proceed  in  the  direction 
that,  if  pursued,  must  ultimately  land  her  at  Cadiz,  or  put  her 
in  the  way  of  very  easily  reaching  Madrid,  for  w^hich  city,  as  I 
understand,  she  and  her  daughter  embarked  at  Acapulco? 
Interpret  all  this,  will  you?" 

Antonio  began  to  translate. 


196  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"Fielding!"  exclaimed  Greaves. 

"Sir." 

"Call  Jimmy  aft." 

The  boy  arrived. 

"I  am  going  below,  Fielding,"  said  Greaves.  "My  ribs 
ache  consumedly.  I  may  get  some  ease  by  lying  flat.  Is  the 
longboat  coming  off?" 

The  tall  bulwarks  prevented  him  from  seeing  the  lower 
ranges  of  the  island.  I  looked  a  moment;  then,  to  make  sure, 
leveled  the  glass,  and  said: 

"They  are  at  this  instant  shoving  off,  sir." 

"Get  in  the  water  and  then  hoist  your  boat  in,"  said  he. 
"You  can  fill  on  the  brig  and  stand  north  for  an  offing  of 
about  three  miles;  then  heave-to  afresh,  and  carefully  observe 
the  bearings  of  the  island,  lest  it  should  roll  down  black  or 
thick.  If  heavy  weather  happens  in  the  night  we  will  proceed, 
for  we  have  fresh  water  enough  aboard  to  carry  us  along. 
Otherwise,  we  will  complete  our  watering  in  the  morning,  for 
I  want  to  make  a  steady  run  of  it  to  the  Channel  without  need 
of  a  halt  on  any  account  whatever." 

While  Greaves  was  giving  me  his  instructions,  Antonio  was 
interpreting  to  the  lady  Aurora,  who  frequently  broke  into 
short  exclamations  of  "(2//^./"  '' Es  esto  !''  '' Sera  posibleV 
and,  while  she  thus  exclaimed,  she  would  look  with  an  expres- 
sion of  dismay  and  reproach  at  the  captain. 

"If  I  rest  my  bones  through  the  night,"  said  Greaves,  "I 
shall  be  easier  or  well  again  in  the  morning.  Look  in  upon 
me  with  a  report  from  time  to  time.  Fielding,  and  tell  Bol  to 
visit  me  during  his  watch." 

He  rose  from  his  chair  with  a  face  of  pain,  put  his  arm  upon 
Jimmy's  shoulder,  and  went  below.  I  stepped  to  the  gang- 
way, calling  to  the  fellows  who  were  hanging  about  in  the  head 
to  lay  aft  and  stand  by  to  discharge  the  boat  and  get  her 
aboard.  She  came  alongside  deep,  and  it  was  dark  before  we 
had  hooked  the  tackles  into  her.  When  she  was  stowed,  the 
topsail  was  swung  and  the  brig  headed  about  north.  There 
was  a  light  wind  out  of  the  southwest.  It  set  the  water  tink- 
ling alongside  with  the  noise  as  of  the  bells  of  a  sleigh  heard 
afar.  The  young  moon  lay  in  a  red  curl  in  the  west,  as 
though,  up  there,  she  was  still  colored  by  the  flush  of  the  sun- 
set that  had  blackened  out  to  our  sight.  There  was  not  a 
cloud.  The  stars  were  plentiful  and  bright,  and  the  dusky 
ocean,  flat  and  firm,  showed  as  wide  as  the  sky. 


WE    TRANSHIP    THE   DOLLARS.  197 

All  this  v/hile  the  lady  had  remained  on  deck.  It  was  about 
eight  o'clock,  and  very  dark.  My  watch  had  come  round, 
and  the  brig  would  be  in  my  charge  till  midnight;  but,  watch 
or  no  watch,  I  should  have  kept  a  lookout  until  I  had  se- 
cured the  three-mile  offing.  The  island  was  on  the  starboard 
quarter,  scarcely  distinguishable  now — a  dim  smudge,  like 
smoke. 

Happening  to  look  through  the  skylight,  I  saw  the  cloth  laid 
for  supper.  Indeed,  supper  was  ready.  Salt  beef  and  ham 
were  on  the  table,  together  with  biscuits,  pickles,  and  a  pot  or 
two  of  preserves,  a  small  decanter  of  rum  for  my  use,  and  a 
bottle  of  Greaves'  red  wine  for  the  lady.  She  had  tasted 
nothing,  as  I  presumed,  since  her  arrival  on  board  in  the 
morning.  She  stood  a-t  the  rail,  looking  out  to  sea,  a  pathetic 
figure  of  loneliness,  indeed,  when  you  thought  of  what  she  had 
suffered,  what  she  was  freshly  delivered  from ;  when  you 
thought  again  of  her  solitude  of  dumbness,  as  you  might  well 
term  her  tongue's  incapacity  aboard  this  brig  of  English  and 
Dutch.  Most  heartily  did  I  yearn  to  speak  soothingly  and 
hopefully,  to  bid  her  be  of  good  cheer  when  she  thought  of  her 
mother,  to  beg  her  persuade  herself  that  her  mother  was 
rescued  and  sailing  to  Europe,  even  as  she,  the  senorita,  was 
thither  bound. 

"Weel,  weel,  there's  Ane  abune  a'!"  says  the  gypsy  in  the 
Scotch  novel,  and  that  was  the  substance  of  what  I  wanted  to 
tell  the  lady  Aurora. 

And  what  did  I  say?  Why,  I  just  coughed  to  let  her  know 
that  I  was  at  her  elbow.  I  had  no  other  language  than  a 
cough. 

She   quietly  looked  round   and  began  "  Yo  no  lo "  then 

broke  off,  arrested  by  remembering  that  I  knew  not  one  sylla- 
ble of  her  tongue. 

I  motioned  to  the  skylight  and  pointed  down,  and  made 
signs  for  her  to  go  below  and  sup.  She  signed  to  me  to 
accompany  her.  I  shook  my  head,  pointing  to  the  sails  and 
to  the  sea,  and  cursing  my  ignorance  that  obliged  me  to  make 
a  baboon  of  myself  with  my  limbs  and  head. 

She  bowed  and  went  to  the  companion  hatch,  and  on  look- 
ing down  a  few  minutes  later  I  saw  her  seated  at  the  table. 
She  had  removed  her  hat;  her  brow  showed  white  in  the  lamp- 
light under  the  magnificent  masses  of  her  dead  black  hair. 
The  jewels  upon  her  fingers  sparkled  as,  with  a  leisureliness 
that  had  something  of  stateliness  in  it,  she  helped  herself  to 


198  ~         LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

the  food  before  her.  Once  again  I  admired  the  beauty  of 
her  hands,  and  then  I  turned  my  back  upon  the  novel  and 
beautiful  picture  of  this  fine  Spanish  woman  to  look  to  the 
brig. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

OFF    THE    ISLAND. 

The  brig  slipped  cleverly  through  the  sea.  It  was  like 
gently  tearing  through  silk  with  a  razor  to  listen  to  the  noise 
that  floated  aft  from  her  cutwater.  When  I  guessed  the  island 
to  be  about  three  miles  distant  I  hove  the  vessel  to.  Yan  Bol's 
pipe  shrilled  with  an  edge  that  seemed  to  fetch  an  echo  from 
the  furthest  reaches  of  the  dark  sea.  When  the  sails  were  to 
the  mast  the  brig  lay  motionless  under  her  topsails  and  stand- 
ing jib. 

I  was  about  to  go  below  to  make  a  report  to  the  captain, 
when  the  lumping  shadow  of  Bol's  bulky  shape  came  along  the 
deck, 

"Beg  pardon,  Mr.  Fielding,"  said  he,  with  a  loutish  lift  of 
his  hand  in  the  direction  of  his  forehead,  "how  might  der 
captain  be,  sir?" 

"I  am  about  to  inquire." 

"Dere  vhas  noting  wrong,  all  handts  hope?" 

"No;   a  severe  bruise.     Nothing  more  serious,  I  trust." 

"Vhas  der  brick  to  be  hove-to  all  night?" 

"Yaw." 

"To  gomblete  der  vatering  in  der  morning,  I  zooppose?" 

"Yaw." 

"Veil,  Mr.  Fielding,  der  men  hov  oxed  me  to  say  dot  if  der 
captain  vill  give  leave  and  she  vhas  not  too  sick  to  be  troubled 
by  der  noise,  dey  vould  like  to  celebrate  der  recovery  of  der 
dollars  by  two  or  dree  leedle  songs  before  der  vatch  vhas 
called." 

This  was  another  way  of  asking  for  a  glass  of  grog  for  all 
hands.  There  could  be  no  objection.  The  men  had  been 
much  exposed  throughout  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  what  could 
more  righteously  warrant  a  harmless  festal  outburst  than  the 
recovery  and  transhipment  of  a  hundred  and  forty  cases  of 
Spanish  dollars? 

I  entered  the  cabin.  The  lady  Aurora  was  still  at  table, 
but  had  long  since  ceased  to  eat.  She  lay  back  in  her  chair, 
her  head  drooped,   her  hands  folded  in  the  posture  of  one 


OFF    THE   ISLAND.  199 

waiting.  When  I  entered  she  hfted  her  head  and  smiled,  her 
eyes  brightened,  her  lips  moved  in  the  first  framing  of  a  sen- 
tence; no  word  escaped  her;  she  pointed  to  a  seat,  and  half 
rose  from  her  own  chair  as  though  in  doubt  where  I  was  used 
to  sit.  I  shook  my  head,  nodded  toward  the  door  of  the  cap- 
tain's berth,  then  at  the  clock  under  the  skylight,  holding  up 
my  fingers  that  she  might  guess  I  would  join  her  in  ten  min- 
utes; and  so  I  passed  on,  hot  in  the  face,  and  wondering 
whether  it  would  be  possible  for  me  to  communicate  with  her 
without  making  a  fool  of  myself — for  a  fool  I  felt  every  time 
I  gesticulated,  which  now  I  think  must  have  been  owing  to 
my  hatred  of  the  French. 

Greaves  lay  in  his  bunk  motionless,  on  his  back,  but  he  was 
free  from   pain.     Galloon   sat  on  a  chest  near  his  head.     I 
reported  the  affairs  of  the  brig,  the  distance  and-  bearings  of 
.the  island,  and  the  like.     He  asked  how  the  weather  looked. 

"It  is  a  heavenly  night,"  said  I. 

"It  is  hot  in  this  hole,"  said  he.  "Plague  seize  the  awk- 
wardness that  tripped  me  and  has  floored  me  thus!  One 
knows  not  what  to  do  for  a  bruise  of  this  sort.  But  patience 
— that's  the  physic  for  every  sort  of  bruise,  whether  of  the 
bones  or  of  the  soul.     Jim  tells  me  the  lady  has  supped." 

"She  has,  sir." 

"I  am  sorry  for  the  poor  thing;  but  where  is  the  woman  that 
does  not  always  want  something  more  than  she  has?  This 
time  yesterday  she  would  have  given  her  hair — angels  alive! 
what  would  she  not  have  given?  to  be  as  she  now  is,  safe 
aboard  such  a  vessel  as  this;  and  now  that  she  is  safe  aboard 
— rescued  from  raw  terrapin  and  the  risks  of  the  society  of 
two  Spanish  sailors  (and  I  must  like  their  looks  better  before  I 
give  them  a  handsomer  name  than  thai) — she  craves  to  be  with 
her  mother — very  natural,  of  course — who  is,  probably,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  she  wants  to  be  put  ashore  at  Lima." 

I  delivered  the  request  of  the  men,  as  expressed  by  Yan  Bol. 

"Oh,  yes.  Let  grog  be  served  out  to  all  hands;  and  the 
men  may  sing,  certainly.  Disturb  me?  Not  down  here. 
And  I  like  my  people  to  be  merry.  Fortune  has  fiddled 
to-day;  let  the  beggars  dance." 

Jimmy  was  in  the  cabin.  I  bade  him  carry  a  can  of  rum  to 
the  men,  and  went  on  deck,  receiving,  without  knowing  how  to 
answer,  a  look  of  inquiry  from  the  lady  Aurora  as  I  passed  her. 

"The  men  may  make  merry,"  said  I  to  Bol.  "There  is 
grog  gone  forward.     Tell  them  that  the  captain  is  free  from 


200  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

pain ;  and  will  you  keep  a  lookout  in  the  waist — or  in  the  head 
if  you  like,  'tis  all  one — while  I  get  a  bite  in  the  cabin?" 

"Yaw,  dot  vill  I.  By  der  vay,  Mr.  Fielding,  vhas  dere  von 
hoondred  und  dirty,  or  vhas  dere  von  hoondred  und  twenty, 
cases  prought  on  boardt?  Vertz  swears  to  von  hoondred  und 
dirty;  Friendt,  von  hoondred  und  twenty.  I  myself  gounts 
von  hoondred  und  dirty-two.  Dere  vhas  a  leedle  vager  in  dis 
— shoost  von  day  of  a  man's  grog,  dot  vhas  all." 

"I  made  one  hundred  and  forty  cases,"  said  I.  "But  are 
they  all  dollars?" 

And  bursting  into  a  laugh,  I  left  him  to  chew  upon  that 
thought,  and  returned  to  the  cabin. 

I  bowed  to  the  lady,  and  took  the  chair  I  usually  occupied 
at  the  table.  She  rose,  came  to  my  side  with  a  bottle  of  claret, 
poured  some  into  a  glass,  and  made  as  if  she  would  wait  upon 
me.  I  was  not  a  little  confounded.  Her  handsome  presence, 
her  fine  person  embarrassed  me.  My  career  had  but  poorly 
qualified  me  for  an  easy  address  in  conversing  with  ladies. 
Much  of  my  life  had  been  spent  upon  the  ocean,  in  the  society 
of  some  of  the  roughest  of  my  own  calling.  For  months  at  a 
stretch  I  had  never  set  eyes  on  a  woman,  and  when  I  was 
ashore,  whether  in  foreign  parts  or  in  my  own  country,  the  girls 
I  fell  in  with  were  not  of  a  sort  to  teach  me  to  know  exactly  what 
to  do  when  I  chanced  upon  the  company  of  a  Senorita  Aurora. 

I  did  the  best  I  could  with  the  imperfect  and  monkey  like 
speech  of  the  hands  and  shoulders  to  induce  her  to  desist  from 
waiting  upon  me  and  return  to  her  chair;  and  in  this  I  was 
helped  by  the  arrival  of  Jimmy,  to  whom  I  gave  several  unnec- 
essary orders,  merely  to  emphasize  to  the  lady  the  desire.  I 
gesticulated  that  she  should  sit,  and  cease  to  do  me  more 
honor  than  I  had  impudence  to  support. 

Presently  she  pointed  to  the  bottle  of  claret — there  stood 
but  one  bottle  on  the  table — and  looked  at  me  in  silence,  but 
with  an  expression  of  such  eloquence  as  Jimmy  himself  could 
not  have  missed  the  meaning  of. 

"Wine,"  said  I. 

"Vine,"  she  repeated;  and  then  to  herself,  ''Vino — vine; 
vmo — vine." 

She  next  pointed  to  the  piece  of  salt  beef. 

"Meat,"  said  I. 

"Meat — carne ;  meat — came,''  she  repeated. 

She  pointed  to  several  objects.  I  gave  her  the  English 
names,  and  she  pronounced  them  deliberately,  in  a  rich  voice, 


OFF    THE  ISLAND.  20I 

invariably  tacking  the  Spanish  equivalent  to  the  word,  as 
though  she  wished  me  to  observe  it.  I  sat  for  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  over  my  supper,  and  then,  looking  at  the  clock 
significantly,  and  then  up  through  the  skylight,  that  she  might 
gather  my  intention,  I  arose,  giving  her  a  little  bow.  She  rose 
also,  and,  pointing  upward,  tapped  her  bosom,  most  clearly 
saying  in  that  way — "May  I  accompany  you?" 

"Si,  sefiorita,''  said  I,  expending,  as  I  believe,  in  those 
words  the  whole  of  my  stock  of  her  tongue. 

A  fine  smile  lighted  up  her  face,  and  she  addressed  me;  and 
what  I  reckon  she  said  was  that  it  would  not  take  me  long  to 
learn  Spanish.  She  picked  up  her  hat,  and  then,  looking  at 
the  table,  pointed,  and  showing  her  white  teeth,  said,  "Bread 
— paji  J  meat — came  j  vine — vino;''  and  so  on  through  the 
words  I  had  interpreted,  making  not  one  blunder  either  of  pro- 
nunciation or  indication  of  the  object,  saving  that  she  called 
wine  vine,  and  h.?im  ya)n. 

I  conducted  her  on  deck;  I  believe  Yan  Bol  had  been  sur- 
veying us  from  the  skylight;  I  perceived  his  big  figure  lurch- 
ing forward  when  I  emerged,  and  his  way  of  going  made  me 
suppose  that  he  had  been  looking  through  the  skylight  with  his 
ear  bent.  "An  old  ape  hath  an  old  eye,"  thought  I,  as  I 
watched  him  disappear  in  the  darkness. 

The  crew  were  assembled  on  the  forecastle  and  singing 
songs  there.  They  had  rigged  up  two  or  three  lanterns  and 
sat  in  the  light  of  them,  drinking  rum-and-water  out  of  mugs, 
and  smoking  pipes.  A  strange  voice  was  singing  at  that 
moment;  I  listened,  and  guessed  it  to  be  one  of  the  two  Span- 
iards. The  girl  paused  and  listened  too.  She  then  ejaculated, 
"Ay/  Ay/ne  /  "  and  went  to  the  rail,  and  gazed  out  to  sea. 

There  blew  a  soft  wind,  cool  with  dew,  out  of  the  south- 
west. I  looked  for  the  island,  but  the  shadow  of  it  was  blent 
like  smoke  with  the  darkness.  -  The  ripples  ran  in  faint,  small 
ivory  curls,  and  the  water  was  full  of  roaming  glows  of  phos- 
phorus. The  Spanish  sailor  ceased  to  sing.  A  fiddle  struck 
up,  screwing  and  squeaking  into  a  tune  which  immediately  set 
my  toes  tapping;  a  hoarse  cough  succeeded,  and  then  rang 
out  the  roaring  voice  of  Travers : 


^o 


Eight  bells  had  struck,  and  the  starboard  watch  was  called, 
And  the  larboard  watch  they  went  to  their  hammocks  down  below  ; 
Before  seven  bells  the  case  it  was  quite  altered. 
And  broad  upon  our  lee-beam  we  sight  a  loftj'  foe. 

Up  hammocks  and  down  chests, 

Ob,  the  boatswain  he  piped  next, 


202  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I  ^ 

And  the  drummer  he  was  called,  at  quarters  for  to  beat. 

We  stowed  our  hammock  well 

Before  we  struck  the  bell, 
And  we  bore  down  upon  her  with  a  full  and  flowing  sheet  ! 
{Chorus)     And  we  bore  down  upon  her  with  a  full  and  flowing  she-e-t !  " 

There  were  more  verses.  The  chorus  was  always  the  same; 
it  burst  with  hurricane  power  from  the  lips  of  the  English 
seamen,  who  sang  with  passion,  as  though  in  defiance  of  the 
Dutch  and  Spanish  listeners;  and,  indeed,  the  matter  of  the 
song  was  headlong  and  irresistible.  The  lady  standing  at  the 
bulwark  turned  her  head  to  listen,  but  when  the  noise  had 
ended  she  sank  her  face  afresh,  put  her  elbow  on  the  rail, 
leaned  her  chin  upon  her  hand,  and  so  gazed  straight  out  into 
the  darkness. 

Much  had  she  to  think  of,  and  her  weight  of  memory  would 
be  the  heavier,  and  the  color  of  it  the  sadder  for  her  inability 
to  communicate  a  syllable  of  what  worked  in  her  brain,  when 
she  thought  of  the  wreck  in  which  her  mother  may  have  per- 
ished, or  of  the  livid  cinder  of  an  island  on  which  she  had 
been  imprisoned  for  four  days,  of  her  present  condition,  and 
of  her  future.  I  wondered  as  I  looked  at  her  whether,  if  she 
had  my  language  or  I  hers,  she  would  be  impassioned  and 
dramatic  in  the  recital  of  her  adventures,  or  whether  she  would 
talk  quietly,  describe  without  vehemence  of  speech  or  motion, 
prove  herself,  in  short,  the  dignified,  apparently  cold  woman  I 
found  her  in  her  compelled  silence  or  speech?  This  I  won- 
dered while  I  watched  her  with  an  irritable  yearning  after 
words  that  I  might  speak.  What  had  been  the  two  sailors' 
behavior  to  her  on  the  island?  Where  and  how  had  she  slept 
of  nights  there?  What  had  been  her  sufferings  in  the  open 
boat?  Who  was  she?  Was  she  visiting  Madrid  to  presently 
return  to  South  America?  She  troubled  my  curiosity.  She 
was  as  a  book  written  in  an  unintelligible  tongue,  but  curiously 
and  beautifully  embellished  with  plates  which  enable  you  to 
guess  at  the  choiceness  and  profusion  of  the  feast  you  are 
unable  to  sit  at. 

'  Now  Yan  Bol  sang  a  song.  His  voice  rent  the  night,  and  I 
observed  the  lady  erect  her  figure  as  though  she  hearkened 
with  astonishment.  I  walked  aft  to  take  a  look  at  the  com- 
pass, and  to  see  that  the  binnacle  lamp  was  burning  well. 

"Who  is  this  at  the  wheel?" 

"Jorge,  senor. " 

"You  don't  speak  English,  do  you?" 


OFF    THE  ISLAND.  ao^ 

The  man  understood  me,  and  shook  his  head.  "Pretty  cool 
fists,"  thought  I,  "to  send  this  poor  devil  aft,  while j'^w  enjoy 
yourselves  with  your  songs  and  pipes  and  grog!  Here  is  a 
shipwrecked  man;  what  care  you?  He  is  a  poor  rag  of  a 
man,  and  very  fit  to  be  put  upon  ;  so  it  has  been,  'Aft  with  ye 
and  grip  them  spokes,  while  a  better  man  than  e'er  a  mumping 
Spaniard  in  all  Americay  comes  for'ard  and  enjoys  himself." 
But  it  was  not  a«matter  to  be  mended  while  the  fellows  were  in 
the  full  of  their  jollification. 

''Como  se  llama  estoV  exclaimed  a  voice  at  my  elbow,  and 
a  small  hand,  gleaming  with  rings,  was  projected  into  the 
sheen  of  the  binnacle  lamp. 

I  started,  conceiving  that  the  lady  w-as  still  at  the  bulwark 
rail,  deep  in  thought  or  listening  to  the  singing. 

"I  do  not  understand,"  said  I. 

"Ovv  you  call,  seiior?"  exclaimed  Jorge. 

She  pointed  to  the  compass,  wanting  its  name  in  English. 
•I  pronounced  the  word  and  she  echoed  it  very  clearly;  then 
lightly  laying  her  hand  upon  my  arm  she  took  a  few^  steps  for- 
ward, and,  pointing  to  the  sea,  asked  again  in  Spanish  Avhat 
that  was  called.  In  this  way  I  gave  her  some  dozen  words; 
and  when  I  believed  she  was  about  to  ask  for  more  terms  she, 
with  her  hand  laid  lightly  on  my  arm,  led  me  back  to  the 
wheel,  and,  pointing  to  the  compass,  pronounced  its  name  in 
English,  then  indicated  the  sea,  uttering  the  word,  and  so  she 
went  through  the  list  she  had  got,  blundering  but  once,  at  the 
word  "star,"  which  she  pronounced  zar. 

By  this  time  the  singing  had  come  to  an  end;  the  starbow- 
Hnes,  as  the  starboard  watch  were  then  termed,  were  dropping 
below;  the  lady  went  to  the  skylight  and  looked  at  the  time; 
then,  coming  up  to  me,  she  put  her  hand  out  and  said: 

"  Buenas  noches,  caballero." 

I  answ-ered,  "Good-night,  senorita." 

She  shook  her  head;  by  the  cabin  lamplight  flowing  up 
through  the  open  frames  I  saw  her  smiling.  She  repeated, 
"Good-night,  caballero,"  in  Spanish.  Seeing  her  wish,  I  said 
good-night  in  the  same  language,  imitating  her  accent. 

"Es  admirable  r'  she  exclaimed,  and  then  went  toward  the 
companion  way,  meaning  to  go  below. 

But  I  had  resolved  that  this  handsome,  amiable,  lovely 
Spanish  lady  should  be  made  as  comfortable  on  board  us  as 
the  resources  of  the  brig  permitted,  and  I  detained  her  by  a 
polite  gesture  while  I  called  to  one  of  the  rnen  forward  to  send 


204  LIST,     YE   LANDSMEN ! 

Antonio  aft.  The  fellow  was  turned  in  and  he  kept  us  wait- 
ing ten  minutes,  during  which  the  lady  and  I  stood  dumb  as  a 
pair  of  ghosts,  she  no  doubt  wondering  why  I  held  her  on  deck, 
though  she  did  not  exhibit  the  least  uneasiness  in  her  bearing 
so  far  as  I  was  able  to  make  out  in  the  starlit  darkness. 
When  Antonio  appeared  I  requested  him  to  ask  the  lady  if  she 
wished  for  anything  the  brig  could  supply  her  with.  Antonio 
translated  sulkily  and  sleepily. 

"No,  senor, "  said  he,  "the  lady  wants  for  nothing.  She  is 
wearied  and  entreats  permission  to  retire  to  rest." 

I  was  convinced  that  the  villain  had  manufactured  this 
answer  to  enable  him  to  return  speedily  to  his  own  bed.  But 
I  was  helpless. 

When  the  lady  went  below  I  told  Antonio  to  send  one  of  the 
men  out  of  my  watch  to  relieve  Jorge  at  the  wheel,  and  I  then 
descended  into  the  cabin  to  make  a  report  to  Greaves  and  to 
hear  how  he  did.  Jimmy  was  clearing  up  for  the  night.  I 
inquired  after  the  captain,  and  the  youth  told  me  he  was  asleep. 

"Has  he  complained  of  pain?" 

"No,  master." 

"Where's  Galloon?" 

"Along  with  the  captain,  master." 

"Has  the  dog  been  fed  to-day?" 

"Oh,  yes.  He  had  a  copper-fastened  buster  at  noon — a 
heart  o'  oak  blow-out." 

"What  did  you  give  him?"  said  I,  not  doubting  the  lad's 
affection  for  the  dog,  but  fearing  that  the  poor  brute  might 
have  been  overlooked  in  the  hurry  and  excitement  of  the  day. 

"As  much  beefsteak  as  he  could  swallow,  master." 

"There  are  no  beefsteaks  on  board  this  ship,"  said  I.  "If 
the  captain  and  Galloon  were  here  we  should  have  a  con- 
cert. But  I  believe  you  when  you  tell  me  you  have  fed  the 
dog." 

"More'n  he  wanted,  master." 

I  bade  him  put  a  spare  mattress  into  my  bunk — we  carried 
a  stock  of  spare  bedding,  a  slop  lot  of  Amsterdam  stuff — and  I 
then  returned  on  deck.  Two  hours  of  watch  lay  before  me, 
and  my  heart  went  in  a  gallop  and  my  brain  in  a  waltz  through 
the  earlier  part  of  that  time.  I  found  leisure  for  thought  now; 
the  hush  of  the  ocean  night  was  upon  the  brig;  no  sound 
reached  me  from  the  forecastle.  The  stars  shone  brightly 
in  the  dark  sky,  and  many  meteors  of  crystal  white  fires  ran 
and  broke  over  our  mastheads,  bursting  like  rockets  immeaS' 


OFF    THE  ISLAND.  205 

urably  distant,  and  leaving  glowing  trails,  which  palpitated  for 
some  minutes. 

The  hope  of  the  voyage  was  realized.  Underfoot  lay  half 
a  million  of  dollars,  and  six  thousand  pounds  of  it  were  to  be 
mine !  Is  it  wonderful  that  my  spirits  should  have  sang,  that 
heart  and  brain  should  have  danced?  But  with  this  noble 
fulfillment  of  the  half-hearted  hope  of  many  weeks  was  mixed 
the  romance  of  the  presence  of  a  handsome  Spanish  woman 
in  the  ship.  One  thought  of  her  as  coming  on  board  with 
the  dollars — as  the  princess  of  the  island  pining  for  civili- 
zation and  shipping  herself  and  the  treasure  of  her  little 
dominion  for  the  life  and  dehghts  of  a  great  and  populous  city 
of  the  Old  World.  She  it  was,  I  think,  that  set  my  brain 
a-waltzing,  if  it  were  the  dollars  which  made  my  heart  gallop 
and  my  spirit  shout  within  me. 

I  tell  you  it  was  an  odd,  intoxicating  mixture  of  the  pictur- 
esque, the  heroic,  t;he  romantic  for  a  plain  young  sailor  man 
like  me  to  put  his  lips  to  and  drain  down.  To  be  sure  the 
influence  of  the  Spanish  lady  upon  me  was  no  more  than  the 
influence  of  bright  eyes,  of  white  teeth,  of  a  fine  person,  of  a 
head  of  magnificent  hair.  And  what  sort  of  influence  would 
that  be,  pray?  Why,  heart  alive !  Oh!  what  but  a  mingling 
of  light  with  thought,  an  aroma  to  haunt  all  fancy  of  other 
things,  giving  a  sparkle  to  the  commonplace,  putting  foam  and 
sweetness  into  cups  of  flatness.  Do  you  who  are  reading  this 
know  how  deep,  know  by  the  experience  of  months  of  weevils, 
corned  horse,  and  the  curses  of  constipated  sailors,  how  deep 
is  the  deep  monotony  of  life  on  shipboard?  If  the  depth  of  this 
monotony  be  known  to  you,  then  will  you  understand  why  it 
should  be  that  the  presence,  yea,  the  presence  merely  of  a 
handsome  woman,  her  glances,  the  flash  of  her  white  teeth,  the 
eloquent  hinting  by  movement  and  posture  at  a  hidden  shape 
of  beauty,  should  mingle  a  few  threads  of  gold  with  the  coarse 
gray,  brine-drenched  worsted  of  the  sailor's  daily  life — of  such 
a  daily  life  as  mine;  should  touch  with  luster  his  mechanic 
habits  and  trains  of  thought  as  the  wake  of  his  ship  in  the  night 
of  the  tropic  ocean  is  beautified  with  the  fiery  seeds  and  radi- 
ant foam-bells  of  the  sea  glow. 

And  now  I  have  intelligently  and  poetically  explained  why 
it  was  that  I  walked  out  some  time  of  the  remainder  of  my 
watch  on  deck,  with  my  blood  in  a  dance  and  my  spirits  sing- 
ing clearly.  But  as  I  paced  I  grew  grave  under  the  shadow  of 
a  fancy — not  yet  to  call  it  fear.     Suppose  the  crew  should  rise 


2o6  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

and  seize  the  brig?  This  was  a  notion  that  was  fixedly  present 
to  Greaves  during  the  outward  passage,  because  he  had  ktiown 
when  I  doubted,  that  the  half  million  of  dollars  were  in  the 
ship  in  the  cave,  and  upon  that  conviction  he  could  base  acute 
realization  of  what  might  happen  when  the  money  was  tran- 
shipped. I,  on  the  other  hand,  had  never  seriously  considered 
the  possibility  of  piracy.  The  money  must  be  in  the  brig 
before  I  could  solemnly  compass  all  the  responsibility  its  pos- 
session implied.  But  the  money  was  now  on  board,  and  six 
thousand  pounds  of  it  were  mine,  and  my  spirits  fell  as  I  paced 
the  quarter-deck  looking  around  the  wide  gloom  and  saying 
to  myself:  "Suppose  this  treasure  of  half  a  million  of  dollars 
should  presently  start  the  men  into  a  determination  to  seize 
the  brig!  There  were  but  two  of  us — Greaves  and  I — at  our 
end  of  the  ship.  Could  we  count  upon  Jimmy?  At  the  other 
end  was  now  an  addition  of  two  Spaniards — cut-throats  at 
heart  for  all  one  knew — with  knives  as  thirsty  for  blood  as  an 
English  sailor's  throat  for  rum." 

Why  should  I  have  thought  thus?  Nothing  whatever  had 
happened  to  put  fancies  of  this  sort  into  my  head.  Was 
it  not  the  being  able  to  understand  that  thirty  thousand  of  the 
thousands  in  the  lazarette  were  to  be  mine  that  set  me  reflect- 
ing with  a  sudden  dark  anxiety,  when  the  question  arose : 
Suppose  the  crew  should  rise  and  take  the  brig? 

The  needy  traveler,  serene  and  gay, 

Walks  the  wild  heath,  and  sings  his  toil  away. 

Does  envy  seize  thee  ?     Crush  the  unbraiding  joy, 

Increase  his  riches,  and  his  peace  destroy  : 

New  fears  in  dire  vicissitude  invade. 

The  rustling  brake  alarms,  and  quivering  shade  ; 

Nor  light  nor  darkness  brings  his  pain  relief. 

One  shows  the  plunder,  and  one  hides  the  thief. 

There  was  comfort,  however,  if  not  safety  in  this  considera- 
tion: not  a  man  forward,  from  Bol  down  to  Jimmy,  had  any 
knowledge  of  navigation.  What,  then,  Avould  they  be  able  to 
do  with  the  brig  if  they  seized  her?  They  might  spread  a 
chart  of  the  world  and  say:  "Here  we  are  noio,  and  there  is 
America,  and  there  are  the  East  Indies,  and  down  there  is 
New  Holland,  and  up  there  is  China,  and  if  we  steadily  head 
in  one  direction,  no  matter  at  what  point  of  the  compass  the 
bowsprit  looks,  we  are  bound  to  run  something  down,  whether 
it  be  a  continent  or  one  of  the  poles." 

Well,  that  is  how  sailors  might  talk  in  a  book  designed  for 


OFF   THE  ISLAND.  207 

the  young.  Before  the  seamen  forward  rose  and  seized  this 
brig,  that  was  now  a  very  valuable  bottom,  as  cargoes  then 
went,  they  would  ask  of  one  another:  "What  are  we  going  to 
do  with  the  ship  when  we  have  her?  Where  are  we  going  to 
carry  her,  and,  having  hit  on  a  spot,  how  are  we  going  to 
navigate  her  there?"  This  I  chose  to  think,  and,  indeed,  I  had 
no  doubt  of  it,  and  I  drew  comfort  from  the  conclusion ;  but 
all  the  same,  my  spirits,  having  sunk,  remained  low  throughout 
the  rest  of  my  watch. 

I  was  uneasy.  I  caught  myself  arresting  my  steps  when  my 
walk  carried  me  toward  tlie  gangway,  whenever  I  heard  the 
sound  of  a  man's  voice.  O  God,  to  think  of  what  a  hell  of 
passions  this  tiny  speck  of  brig  was  capable  of  holding!  To 
think  of  the  large  and  bloody  tragedy  this  minim  of  the  build- 
ing yards  could  find  a  theater  for!  Never  had  I  so  utterly 
felt  human  insignificance  at  sea  as  I  did  this  night,  when  I 
looked  over  the  rail  and  searched  the  smoky  void  of  the  hori- 
zon for  the  smudge  of  the  island,  till,  for  the  relief  of  my 
sight,  I  watched  a  star. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  it  is,  William  Fielding,"  said  I  to  myself, 
"your  blood  is  over-heated,  your  spirits  are  over-excited.  By 
this  picking  up  to-day  of  a  fortune — a  noble  fortune  to  you,  my 
boy — of  six  thousand  pounds,  and  by  the  sudden  and  novel 
companionship  of  a  dark  and  splendid  lady,  the  pulses  of  your 
body  have  been  set  a-hammering  too  fast.  They  must  sleep, 
or  excitement  will  make  you  sick." 

Eight  bells  were  struck.  Bol  came  along,  and  I  went  below 
to  see  if  the  captain  was  awake.  He  addressed  me  on  my 
entering  his  cabin.  I  reported  the  little  there  was  to  tell.  He 
said  that  the  pain  in  his  side  was  easier;  that  he  could  move 
without  the  anguish  of  the  afternooon. 

"I  shall  lie  by  all  night,"  said  he,  "and  hope  to  be  up  and 
about  again  in  the  morning." 

He  then  inquired  about  the  situation  of  the  island,  the 
appearance  of  the  weather,  the  sail  under  which  the  brig  lay, 
whether  any  vessel  had  hove  in  sight,  and  added: 

"If  you  should  awaken  in  your  watch,  go  on  deck  and  take  a 
look  round;  though  I  trust  Bol." 

I  went  on  deck  to  give  the  Dutchman  tlie  bearings  of  the 
island  and  our  distance  from  it.  He  was  sullen  with  sleep. 
Likely  as  not,  the  can  which  Jinmiy  had  filled  contained  more 
liquor  than  should  have  gone  forward  at  once. 

"Keep  a  bright  lookout,"  said  I.      "There  may  come  a  shift 


2o8  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN- ! 

of  wind  that  will  put  the  island  under  our  lee,  with  nobody  to 
guess  that  it's  at  hand  until  we're  upon  it." 

"Ovv,  I'll  keep  a  bright  lookout,"  he  answered;  "but  vould 
to  Cott  dere  vhas  no  more  lookouts  forme!  I  vhas  dam'd 
sick  of  looking  out.  I  hov  been  jjpoking  out,  by  tunder,  for 
ofer  twenty  year,  and  hov  seen  noting  till  dis  day;  and  den 
she  vhas  to  be  carried  round  der  Hoorn  to  Amsterdam  before 
she  vhas  all  right." 

I  went  to  my  berth.  Excitement  had  subsided  since  my 
few  words  with  Greaves.  I  pitched  into  my  bunk,  and  was 
sound  asleep  in  a  minute.  I  was  awakened  by  the  weight  of  a 
heavy  hand  and  by  the  sound  of  a  deep  voice. 

"Mr.  Fielding,  I  do  not  like  der  look  of  der  veather.  I 
believe  dere  vhas  a  gale  of  vind  on  her  vhay  here." 

"What  is  the  hour,  Bol?" 

"She  vhas  a  quarter-past  dree." 

I  went  on  deck,  and  observed  that  the  sky  in  the  north  was 
as  black  as  pitch.  Overhead  the  stars  were  dim  and  few,  but 
they  burnt  freely  and  brightly  in  the  south.  I  caught  a  moan- 
ing tone  in  the  wind,  that  had  considerably  freshened  since  I 
left  the  deck;  and  the  brig,  hove-to  under  whole  topsails,  was 
lying  over  somewhat  steeply,  with  the  seas  to  windward  slap- 
ping at  her  rounded  side,  hissing  off  in  pale  yeasty  sheets,  and 
flickering  snappishly  into  the  gloom  to  leeward. 

"Call  all  hands  and  close-reef  both  topsails,"  said  I. 

I  ran  below  to  report  to  Greaves.  A  bracket-lamp  burnt 
feebly  in  his  cabin.  He  was  wide  awake,  and  his  dark  eyes, 
with  the  glance  of  the  small  yellow  flame  upon  them,  looked 
twice  their  usual  size. 

"It  is  coming  on  to  blow,  sir." 

"Well,  snug  down  and  put  yourself  to  leeward  of  the  island, 
anyhow." 

"Shall  I  heave  her  to,  then,  for  watering?" 

"Judge  for  yourself.  The  brig  is  in  your  hands.  If  it 
comes  hard  let  her  go.  Keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  island. 
Have  you  its  bearings?" 

"Bol  should  have  them,"  said  I.  "I  have  been  turned  in 
since  midnight." 

I  regained  the  deck.  The  crew  were  yawling  at  the  reef- 
tackles  and  singing  out  at  the  main  braces  to  trim  the  yards  for 
reefing.  There  was  much  noise.  The  wind  was  steadily 
freshening,  and  through  the  groans  and  pipings  of  it  aloft  ran 
the  sharp,  salt  hiss  of  small  seas,  bursting  suddenly   and  with 


OFF    THE  ISLAND.  209 

temper  under  the  level  lash  of  the  wind.     I  shouted  to  Bol, 
who  came  out  of  the  bl^kness  in  the  waist. 

"Where  do  you  make  the  island?" 

"She'll  bear  sou'east, "  he  answered. 

I  stepped  to  the  compass. 

"There's  been  a  shift  of  wind  since  midnight.  It  was  nor'- 
nor'west,  and  now  it's  come  north.     Since  when?" 

"Ow,  she  freshened  out  of  der  north  in  a  leedle  squall. 
Dot  vhas  vhen  I  called  you." 

I  swept  the  wide,  dark  reach  of  the  southern  line  of  sea 
with  the  glass;  but  had  the  island  been  as  big  as  England  it 
would  have  been  sunk  in  the  peculiar  smoky  thickness  of  the 
dusk  that  yet,  strangely  enough,  formed  a  clear  atmosphere  for 
the  stars  to  shine  through.  I  say  I  swept  the  ocean  with  the 
glass,  but  to  no  purpose.  An  old  sailor  once  laughed  at  me 
for  using  an  ordinary  day  telescope  at  night.  I  told  him  that 
what  would  magnify  a  colored  object  would  magnify  a  shadow; 
and  he  afterward  owned  that  he  talked  out  of  prejudice;  had 
looked  through  a  telescope  since  in  the  darkness  and  discov- 
ered that  I  was  right. 

The  men  reefed  the  topsails  smartly,  and  not  being  able  to 
see  the  island,  and  not  choosing  to  trust  Bol's  conjectures  as 
to  its  situation,  I  headed  the  brig  due  east,  setting  the  reefed 
foresail  and  trysail  along  with  some  fore-and-aft  canvas  to 
give  her  heels.  It  blackened  rapidly  overhead  ;  every  star  per- 
ished. In  a  few  minutes  there  was  not  a  light  visible  up  in 
God's  heights;  all  the  fire  was  below,  and  the  sea  was  begin- 
ning to  run  in  flames  like  oil  burning.  This  shining  in  the  sea 
was  a  blindness  to  the  sight,  for  it  brought  the  sky  down  black 
as  a  midnight  fog  to  the  very  sip  and  spit  of  the  surge.  We 
held  on,  crushing  through  it,  for  the  wind  having  swiftly  swept 
up  into  a  fresh  breeze,  had  on  a  sudden  roared  into  half  a 
gale,  and  the  brig  was  smoking  forward  as  she  plunged,  with  a 
heel  to  leeward  when  the  sea  look  her,  that  brought  the  white 
and  fiery  smother  within  hand-reach  of  the  gangway  rails. 

I  stood  at  the  binnacle;  Bol  was  at  my  side;  two  hands  were 
stationed  on  the  lookout;  the  crew  remained  on  deck.  They 
had  got  to  hear  that  Bol  had  lost  the  bearings  of  the  island,  and 
though  the  watch  might  be  called,  no  man  was  going  below  on 
such  a  night  of  sudden  tempest  as  this,  with  a  hurricane  away 
behind  the  windward  blackness,  for  all  we  knew,  and  this  side 
the  horizon  as  deadly  a  heap  of  fangs  as  ever  bit  a  ship  in 
twain. 


210  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

"Ivhas  glad  if  he  lightened,"  said  Bol.  "Itvhas  strange  if 
der  island  did  not  show  on  der  starb*rd  quarter  there." 

"It  was  strange,"  said  I,  mimicking  him  in  my  temper, 
"that  you  should  fall  asleep  in  your  watch  on  deck  with  land 
close  aboard  ye." 

"By  Cott,  den " 

Rain  at  that  instant  struck  the  brig  in  a  whole  sheet  of 
water.  It  came  along  with  a  roar  and  shriek  of  wind  and  wet. 
The  cataractal  drench  was  swept  in  steam  off  our  decks  by 
the  black  squall  it  blew  along  in;  the  fierce  slap  of  it  fired  the 
sea,  and  we  washed  through  an  ocean  of  light,  pale  and  green. 

"By  Cott,  den "  bawled  Bol. 

"Breakers  ahead!"  roared  a  voice  from  the  forecastle. 

"Breakers  on  the  lee-bow!"  cried  another  voice. 

It  was  like  being  blinded  and  shocked  by  lightning  to  hear 
those  cries.  They  were  paralyzing.  For  an  instant  I  looked 
and  listened  idly. 

Then — "Hard  a-starboard  every  spoke!  Hard  a-starboard 
every  spoke!"  I  shouted,  and  flung  myself  upon  the  wheel  to 
help  the  men  there,  roaring  meanwhile  to  Bol  to  call  hands  to 
the  main  braces  and  to  get  the  fore  tack  and  sheet  raised. 
He  rushed  forward,  thundering.  Never  had  Dutchman  the 
like  of  such  a  voiee  as  Bol. 

The  brig  was  in  the  wind;  she  was  pitching  furiously  head 
to  sea,  the  canvas  thrashing  in  the  blackness,  the  gale  splitting 
in  lunatic  shrieks  upon  every  rope  and  spar,  the  strange, 
hoarse  shouts  of  the  seamen  rising  and  falling  in  shuddering 
notes  upon  the  clamor  that  surged  above  as  the  water  rolled 
below. 

I  had  fled  from  the  wheel  to  the  side  to  look  for  the  land, 
and  was  straining  my  vision  against  the  wet  obscurity  in  vain 
search  of  the  white  water  of  breakers,  or  of  the  overhanging 
midnight  shadow  that  should  denote  the  island  close  aboard, 
when — the  brig  struck!  a  violent  shock  ran  through  the  length 
of  her;  every  timber  thrilled  as  though  a  mine  had  been 
sprung  under  her  keel.  "O  God,  that  it  should  have  come  to 
it!"  I  thought. 

"Round  with  that  fore  yard,  men,"  I  roared;  "don't  let  her 
hang!  dont  let  her  hang!"  Again  the  brig  struck.  A' sort  of 
raging  chorus  full  of  curses  and  the  passion  of  terror  broke 
from  the  seamen  as  they  dragged.  The  rain  cleared  as  sud- 
denly as  it  had  begun,  the  brig's  head  was  paying  off,  and  my 
heart  swelled  in  thanks  as  she  listed  over  to  larboard,  trembling 


OFF    THE   ISLAND.  211 

to  a  blow  of  sea  that  rose  in  a  mountain  of  milk  upon  her 
bow. 

"Where  are  you,  Fielding?"  shouted  the  voice  of  Greaves. 

"Here,  sir." 

He  was  standing  in  the  hatch,  gripping  the  companion  for 
support,  but  his  voice  had  the  old  ring.  "What  have  you 
done  with  the  brig?" 

"White  water  was  just  now  reported.  I  don't  see  it.  I 
don't  see  the  land — yet  we  struck." 

"No,"  he  answered  coolly,  "it  was  we  who  were  struck. 
There  is  no  land.  Look  there — and  there — and  there! 
Those  are  your  shoals!" 

At  the  moment  of  his  speaking  one  of  the  sublimest,  most 
beautiful  sights  which  the  ocean,  prodigal  as  she  is  in  marvels 
of  terror  and  splendor,  can  offer  to  the  sight  of  man  was  visi- 
ble round  about  us.  In  at  least  a  dozen  different  parts  of  the 
blackness  that  stooped  to  the  luminous  peaks  of  the  seas  I 
beheld  flaming  fountains,  glittering  lines  rising  and  feathering 
to  the  gale,  coming  and  going,  blowing  pale  and  yet  splendid 
— every  jet  so  luminous  that  the  scoring  of  the  darkness  by 
it  was  as  defined  as  the  track  of  a  rocket.  They  soared  and 
fell  in  a  breathing  way,  some  near,  some  afar,  ever  varying 
their  distances,  and  one  snored  like  an  escape  of  steam  within 
a  biscuit-toss  of  our  weather  beam,  and  the  fiery  shower 
flashed  on  the  wind  betwixt  our  masts  with  a  hiss  like  a  volley 
of  shot  tearing  the  surface  of  water. 

"A  school  of  whales, "  shouted  Greaves.  "One  of  them 
plumped  into  us.  Now,  get  your  topsail  aback.  Fielding,  get 
your  topsail  aback,  and  stop  her  till  the  beasts  go  clear,  or 
they'll  be  butting  us  into  staves.  Jump  for  the  well  and  get 
a  cast." 

The  men,  hearing  their  captain's  voice,  were  quieted.  They 
came  to  the  braces,  and,  without  disorder  or  any  note  of  curs- 
ing terror  in  their  voices,  brought  the  brig  to  a  halt.  I 
dropped  the  rod  and  found  the  vessel  stanch ;  sounded  the 
well  four  or  five  times,  and  always  found  her  stanch.  The 
wondrous  luminous  appearances  vanished,  and  the  blacker 
hours  of  the  night  before  the  dawn  closed  upon  us  in  an 
impenetrable  dye,  but  with  less  weight  in  the  wind  and  with 
less  fire  in  the  sea. 

"Furl  the  foresail  and  let  the  brig  lie  as  she  is  till  dawn," 
said  Greaves,  and  walked  slowly  from  one  side  of  the  deck  to 
the  other,  looking  forth,  pausing  long  to  look;   then,  with  slow 


212  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

motions,  he  went  below,  and  stretched  himself  at  full  length 
upon  a  locker,  with  a  hand  upon  his  side. 

My  watch  came  round  at  four;  but,  in  any  case,  I  should 
have  watched  the  brig  through  the  darkness.  Some  while 
before  dawn  the  wind  was  spent,  the  stars  glowing,  the  sea 
fast  slackening  its  heave,  with  the  muck  that  had  troubled  and 
drenched  us  settling  away  in  a  shadow  south  and  west. 

At  last  broke  the  day.  Melancholy  is  daybreak  at  sea. 
There  is  nothing  sadder  in  nature;  nothing  that  so  sinks  the 
spirits  of  the  watcher  who  suffers  himself  to  be  visited  by  the 
full  spirit  of  the  sight.  On  shore  there  is  the  chirrup  and 
harmonies  of  birds,  the  rosy  streaking  of  the  sky  over  the  hill- 
tops; the  vane  of  the  church  spire  burns,  the  cock  crows 
heartily,  the  farmyard  is  in  motion,  the  smell  of  the  country 
rises  in  an  incense  as  the  sun  springs  into  the  sky.  But  at  sea 
the  cold  iron-gray  of  the  breaking  morn  is  reflected  in  the 
boundless  waste.  There  is  nothing  to  catch  the  light  of  the 
springing  sun  save  the  clouds.  The  vast  solitude  brims  into 
the  unbroken  distance,  and  cold  is  the  ashen  sky  and  cold  the 
picture  of  the  ship,  as  it  steals  out  of  the  darkness  of  the  night. 
The  melancholy,  however,  is  but  in  the  dawn's  beginning. 
When  the  sun  rises,  there  is  a  splendor  of  colors  at  sea  which 
you  will  not  find  ashore.  The  ocean  is  a  mirror  that  reverber- 
ates the  light  of  day.  Times  are  when  the  deep  flings  its  own 
prismatic  glories  upon  the  sky.  This  have  I  marked  at  sun- 
rise, when  the  flash  of  the  luminary  has  sunk  into  the  heart  of 
the  sea,  when  all  is  blueness  and  dazzle  below,  and,  above,  a 
sky  of  high-compacted  cloud,  delicate  as  flowers  and  figures  of 
frost  and  snow  upon  a  windowpane,  charged  with  the  colors 
of  the  great  eye  of  ocean  looking  up  at  it. 

"There's  the  island,"  said  I  to  myself. 

I  snatched  up  the  glass,  and  resolved  the  tiny  piece  of 
shading  upon  the  horizon  into  the  proportions  of  the  ugly  rock 
of  cinders.  It  was  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  distant  down  on 
the  lee  quarter. 

"The  deuce!"  thought  I.  "What  has  been  our  drift? 
Where  has  the  brig  been  running  to?  And  yet  Greaves  told 
me  he  could  trust  Bol !  " 

I  looked  through  the  skylight,  and  immediately  the  captain, 
who  lay  upon  the  locker,  opened  his  eyes  and  fastened  them 
upon  me. 

"The  island  is  in  sight,  sir." 

"How  far  distant?" 


IVE    START  FOR   HOME.  213 

I  made  answer.  He  asked  a  few  questions,  then  bade  me 
shift  the  brig's  helm  for  the  rock  to  complete  our  watering. 
Twenty  minutes  later  we  were  standing  once  more  for  the 
island,  with  all  plain  sail  heaped  upon  the  brig,  and  a  quiet 
air  of  wind  blowing  dead  on  end  over  the  taffrail. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WE    START    FOR    HOME, 

We  were  off  the  island  again  by  nine  o'clock.  Greaves  was 
wise  to  fill  his  casks ;  the  water  was  sweet,  the  road  home  long, 
and  our  peculiar  care  was  not  to  be  forced  to  look  in  anywhere 
for  supplies  of  any  sort.  Yet  it  was  as  depressing  as  a  disap- 
pointment to  return  to  the  island.  Is  there  an  uglier  heap  of 
rock  in  the  wide  world?  The  black  lava  of  the  scowling 
Galapagos  yields  nothing  more  horrid.  And  the  spirit  of  its 
dark  and  horrible  solitude  visited  you  the  more  sharply 
because  of  the  crawling,  stealthy  life  you  beheld  low  down  by 
the  wash  of  the  beach,  remote  from  the  inland  loneliness;  the 
creeping  shape  of  the  elephant  tortoise,  of  the  black  lizard,  of 
crabs  as  huge  as  targets,  and  no  further  motion  save  what's  in 
the  air,  where  the  ocean  fowl  are  glancing.  That  island  was 
a  fit  tomb  for  the  ship  which  it  caverned.  You  thought  of  it 
as  a  grave,  of  the  ship  as  a  corpse;  and  the  ugly  heap  of  flat 
split  cliff  and  black  lava  climbing  into  spires,  and  front  of 
cinderous  rock  corrugated  by  the  arrest  of  their  glowing  cata- 
racts, fell  cold  upon  the  sight,  and  colder  yet  upon  the  heart. 

We  sent  a  hand  aloft  as  before  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout. 
The  island  lay  square  in  the  north,  and  while  we  hung  hove-to 
off  the  reefs,  at  any  hour  something  large  and  armed  might 
come  sailing  up  from  the  horizon  at  the  back,  and  heave  the 
breast  of  a  royal  over  the  western  or  eastern  point  ere  we  could 
guess  that  there  was  anything  within  leagues  and  leagues  of  us. 
Yan  Bol  took  charge  of  the  longboat  and  went  ashore.  It 
was  a  fine  morning,  but  the  sky  looked  dim,  like  a  blue  eye 
after  tears;  the  sun  had  his  sting  of  yesterday,  but  not  his 
flash.  A  long  swell  swung  through  the  sea,  but  the  heave  was 
out  of  the  north,  and  we  lay  south,  the  land  between;  it  was 
smooth  here  or  we  could  have  done  little  in  the  way  of  water- 
ing. The  corners  of  the  land  illustrated  the  weight  of  the 
swell;  the  white  water  burst  in  clouds  there,  and  the  noise  of 
it  came  along  with  the  voice  of  a  gathering  storm. 


214  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  t 

Greaves  was  so  much  better  of  the  pain  in  his  side  that  he 
sat  at  breakfast  and  took  a  chair  upon  the  deck  afterward. 
He  called  me  to  his  cabin,  while  we  were  heading  for  the 
island,  and  asked  me  to  look  at  his  ribs.  There  was  a  little 
discoloration,  such  as  might  attend  a  bruise — no  more.  I 
pressed  the  bones,  but  he  did  not  wince.  I  dug  somewhat 
deep  in  the  soft  part  just  under  the  liver,  but  he  uttered  no 
sound.  The  pain  was  very  nearly  gone,  he  told  me;  yet  he 
looked  pale,  and  his  eyes  wanted  their  former  light  and  old 
activity  of  glance. 

I  was  busy  in  bringing  the  brig  to  a  stand  while  Greaves  was 
at  breakfast,  and  on  passing  the  skylight  and  looking  down, 
I  saw  the  lady  Aurora  seated  at  table  with  him.  When  he 
came  on  deck  after  breakfast,  she  followed;  Jimmy  placed 
chairs  and  she  was  about  to  sit,  but  catching  sight  of  me  she 
approached,  bowing  low,  with  a  fine  arch  smile,  and  her  hand 
extended.  I  supposed  she  meant  merely  to  shake  me  by  the 
hand,  but  on  grasping  my  fingers  she  retained  them,  and  I  felt 
a  foolish  blush  upon  my  face,  as  she  drew  me  to  the  binnacle 
stand,  at  which  she  pointed,  saying,  "compass."  She  then 
led  me  to  the  side,  and  projecting  her  glittering  hand  over  the 
rail,  said  "sea."  Then,  looking  aloft,  she  laughed  and  shook 
her  head,  and  cried: 

"No  sar,  senor. " 

"Star,"  said  I. 

"Si — star — gracias,'"  she  exclaimed. 

"Had  you  not  better  mind  your  eye?"  exclaimed  Greaves, 
as  we  approached  him.  "Somebody's  told  her  the  value  of 
your  share  in  the  chinks  below.  She's  no  clipper,  but  she's  • 
got  a  devilish  fine  bow  and  run,  and  you'd  find  her  bends 
sweetly  good,  I'll  warrant  you,  were  you  to  careen  her  and 
clear  her  sides.  By  Isten!  Fielding,  she'll  be  forging  ahead 
and  taking  you  in  tow  if  you  don't  mind  your  helm." 

I  made  no  reply.  I  did  not  greatly  relish  Greaves'  humor. 
The  girl's  ignorance  of  our  tongue  was  an  appeal  to  our 
respect.  But  then  I  was  twenty-four — an  age  of  sensibility. 
Greaves  was  an  older  man,  and  though  I  love  his  memory,  1 
must  say  the  sea  had  a  little  blunted  some  of  the  finer  points 
of  feeling  in  him. 

Madam  Aurora  took  the  chair  which  Jimmy  had  placed,  and 
she  and  Greaves  sat  together,  but  in  silence.  Some  business 
of  the  brig  occupied  my  attention.  Presently  Greaves  told  me 
to  go  below  and  breakfast. 


E    START  FOR  HOME.  2i5 

"I  will  look  after  the  ship,"  said  he. 

I  went  below  and  made  a  good  breakfast.  There  was  a  dish 
of  terrapin  ;  the  Dutch  sailor  Wirtz,  the  burly,  carroty  man, 
with  the  deep  roaring  voice — but  all  our  Dutchmen  had  deep 
voices — had  somewhere  learnt  the  art  of  cooking  terrapin. 
He  had  stayed  in  the  brig  to  dress  this  delicious  meat,  and 
Frank  Hals,  the  cook,  had  gone  ashore  in  his  place  in  the 
longboat.  I  fared  sumptuously,  washing  the  delicate  morsels 
down  with  some  of  the  Casada's  cocoa,  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  the  pot  by  Thomas  Teach,  who  professed  to  have 
learnt  what  he  knew  under  this  head  in  two  voyages  he  had 
made  to  the  Dutch  Spice  Islands. 

Galloon  had  followed  me  into  the  cabin,  and  bore  me  com- 
pany. He  sat  upon  his  chair  and  gazed  at  me  affectionately 
when  I  talked  to  him.  Often  had  I  talked  out  my  mind  to 
Galloon.  Often  in  quiet,  lonely  watches,  during  the  outward 
passage,  had  I  held  his  ears,  while  his  fore  paws  rested  upon 
my  knees,  and  given  loose  to  the  imaginations  which  the 
prospect  of  the  promise  of  realizing  thirty  thousand  dollars 
raised  up  in  me.  And  then,  again,  I  loved  this  dog  as  the 
savior  of  my  life.  Never  could  I  look  into  his  affectionate, 
liquid,  intelligent  eye,  but  that  I  would  think  to  myself,  and 
often  say  aloud  to  him,  dog  as  he  was,  a  poor  four-footed 
beast,  soulless,  as  it  is  commonly  supposed,  of  affections  to  be 
best  won  by  kicks  and  curses — that  he  had,  by  saving  my  life, 
become  in  a  sense  the  creator  of  a  man,  the  renewer  of  a 
being  deemed  by  his  own  species  immortal  in  spirit,  so  that 
whatever  I  did  a  dog  would  be  answerable  for;  the  existence 
of  all  passions  in  me,  my  pleasures  and  hopes  and  griefs;  nay, 
my  marriage,  should  ever  I  marry,  and  the  children  I  begot, 
would  be  all  chargeable  upon  a  poor  dog,  God  wot!  a  strange 
thing  to  reflect  on  by  one  who  has  been  made  to  believe,  all 
his  life,  that  he  is  only  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and  yet 
true  as  the  blessed  sunlight  itself;  for  if  it  had  not  been  for 
Galloon,  long  ago  I  should  have  been — what?  the  roe  of  a 
herring,  perhaps,  the  liver  of  a  cod — instead  of  a  man,  capable 
of  looking  back,  through  a  long  avenue  of  years,  and  of  moral- 
izing thus. 

When  I  came  on  deck  I  found  Antonio  standing  in  front  of 
Greaves,  cap  in  hand,  translating  for  him  and  the  lady.  On 
my  appearing,  Miss  Aurora  exclaimed  quickly  and  eagerly  to 
the  Spaniard,  who  turning  to  me,  said,  squinting  as  he  spoke: 

"The  senorita  has  met  you  before," 


2i6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

"Where?"  said  I. 

"At  Lima,  senor. " 

"Never  was  at  Lima  in  my  life." 

He  translated;  she  made  a  little  dignified  gesture  of  impa- 
tience. 

"The  lady  says  that  she  has  met  you  at  the  house  of " 

and  here  Antonio  named  a  Spanish  merchant  of  Lima. 

"No,"  said  I,  looking  at  her  and  shaking  my  head. 

"Yes,"  she  cried  in  English,  and  spoke  rapidly  to  Antonio. 

"She  is  not  mistaken,  caballero.  Two  thumbs  are  alike,  but 
two  faces  never." 

"You  never  were  at  Lima?"  said  Greaves. 

"Never,"  I  exclaimed,  laughing. 

"Let  her  have  her  way,"  said  Greaves.     "Contrive  to  have 

visited  Lima,  and  to  have  been  a  bosom  friend  of  Don , " 

and  he  named  the  Spanish  merchant.  "What  does  it  signify? 
May  it  not  mean  that  she  is  in  love  with  you,  and  that  her 
professing  to  have  met  you  is  a  Spanish  naaiden's  device  to 
cover  an  advance,  as  a  soldier  would  say." 

Antonio  continued  to  squint.  I  viewed  him  narrowly,  and 
was  satisfied  that  he  had  not  understood  the  captain's  words. 

"Beg  the  lady  to  continue  her  narrative,"  said  Greaves. 

She  addressed  Antonio  in  a  few  sentences  at  a  time.  Occa- 
sionally her  language  was  above  his  understanding;  he  would 
look  at  her  stupidly,  until  she  gave  him  another  nod.  How 
rich  was  her  Spanish,  how  honey-sweet  her  utterance!  It  was 
like  listening  to  singing.  The  memories  which  thronged  her 
recital  delicately  colored  with  blood  her  pale  olive  cheek;  her 
eyes  moistened  or  sparkled  as  she  spoke,  or  watched  while 
Antonio  interpreted.  Most  of  the  time  her  gaze  was  fastened 
upon  me.  It  seemed  as  though  she  put  me  before  Greaves, 
as  though  the  incident  of  my  having  had  charge  of  the  boat 
which  brought  her  off  the  island,  had  established  me  in  her 
gratitude  as  her  deliverer. 

Her  story,  however,  was  little  more  than  a  repetition  of  what 
has  already  been  related.  Her  mother  had  been  absent  twenty 
years  from  Old  Spain.  On  the  death  of  her  husband,  she  sold 
the  estate  and  all  her  interest  in  the  business,  and  went  to 
Acapulco  with  her  daughter,  on  a  visit  to  her  brother,  who 
was  a  priest  at  that  place;  thence  she  and  Aurora  took  ship- 
ping for  Cadiz. 

The  lady  broke  off  at  this  to  implore  us,  through  Antonio, 
to  tell  her,  as  sailors,  whether  we  believed  her  mother's  life 


IV£    START  FOR  HOME.  217 

had  been  preserved.  Greaves  answered  that  he  considered  it 
very  probable  that  her  mother  was  alive.  Who  was  to  tell  that 
the  ship  had  foundered?  Who  was  to  say  that  she  had  not 
outweathered  the  gale,  been  jury-rigged  and  worked  by  the 
survivors  into  port,  the  Senorita  Aurora's  mother  being  on 
board? 

The, girl's  eyes  glistened  when  this  was  translated.  She 
smiled  at  Greaves  and  thanked  him  in  Spanish.  An  expres- 
sion of  pleading  then  entered  her  face,  and  her  look  took  a 
peculiar  color  of  beauty  from  the  wistfulness  and  plaintiveness 
of  it.  Why  would  not  the  captain  set  her  ashore  at  Lima,  that 
she  might  rejoin  her  mother,  who,  on  landing — it  mattered  not 
at  what  port  on  the  coast — was  sure  to  make  her  way  to 
Acapulco? 

But  Greaves  shook  his  head,  smiling  into  her  eyes,  which 
were  impassioned  with  entreaty. 

"I  must  go  straight  home,"  said  he.  "Do  not  you  know 
that  there  is  a  treasure  in  our  hold,  which  obliges  me  to  make 
haste  to  reach  England?  I  will  take  care  that  you  safely 
arrive  at  Madrid,  even  should  it  come  to  myself  escorting  you, 
senorita." 

She  bowed,  looking  sadly. 

"Or  here,"  said  he,  extending  his  hand  toward  me,  "is  a 
cavalier  Avho  will  be  honored  by  conducting  you  to  Madrid." 

She  slightly  glanced  at  me,  then  fastened  her  eyes  upon  the 
deck  and  mused  for  a  few  moments;  then  addressed  Antonio, 
who,  turning  to  me,  said — but  in  English,  you  will  please 
understand,  which  I  do  not  attempt  to  reproduce,  that  you 
may  read  without  hindrance: 

"The  lady  recollects  that  when  she  met  you  at  Lima  you 
spoke  Spanish." 

"I  was  never  at  Lima,"  I  answered,  coloring  and  then 
laughing. 

"Depend  upon  it,"  said  Greaves,  "that  the  fellow  she  met 
was  good-looking,  or  recollection  wouldn't  be  so  bright." 

"What  was  the  occupation  of  the  gentleman?"  said  I  to  the 
lady,  through  Antonio. 

"He  was  an  English  naval  officer,  had  been  imprisoned, 
but  had  been  at  liberty  some  weeks  when  the  senorita  met 
him." 

"What  was  his  name?" 

"She  does  not  remember;  but  you  are  the  gentleman." 

"Be  it  so,"  said  I,  laughing. 


2l8  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

"On  slenderer  evidence  have  men  been  hanged,"  said 
Greaves. 

Now  came  a  short  pause.  Antonio  shuffled  his  naked  feet, 
sometimes  looking  straight,  sometimes  squinting,  impatient  to 
get  forward  and  lounge.  The  longboat  had  made  her  second 
trip,  and  lay  alongside  the  beach.  The  figures  of  the  men 
crawling  from  the  grove  of  trees,  trundling  the  casks  among 
them,  showed  like  beetles  in  the  distance.  It  was  about  eleven 
o'clock.  The  sunlight  was  misty;  the  swell  rolled  with  a  dull 
flash  in  the  brows  of  it;  the  wind  hummed  like  clustering  bees 
aloft,  and  swept  the  cheek  as  the  breath  and  kiss  of  feyer. 
The  slewing  of  the  brig,  along  with  the  sliding  of  the  sun, 
pitched  the  glare  upon  the  deck  clear  of  the  trysail,  in  whose 
shadow  we  had  been  conversing.  I  called  to  a  man  to  spread 
the  short  awning.  Antonio  was  going;  the  lady  Aurora 
detained  him. 

"The  seilorita  wants  to  know,"  said  the  Spanish  seaman, 
"how  long  the  voyage  to  England  occupies." 

"We  mean  to  thrash  our  way  home,"  answered  Greaves. 
"We  shall  not  take  long.     Let  us  call  it  three  months." 

"Blessed  Virgin!  Three  months!"  echoed  the  girl  in 
Spanish. 

A  fine  look  of  tragic  horror  enlarged  her  eyes.  She  dis- 
torted her  mouth  into  a  singular  e.xDjession.  The  tension 
paled  her  lips  and  exposed  her  teeth. 

Greaves  seemed  to  admire  her.  For  my  part,  I  thought  her 
now  the  most  beautiful  and  wonderful  creature  I  had  ever 
heard  of — a  lady  who  might  either  be  angel  or  devil,  you  could 
not  tell  which;  or  she  might  be  both.  Her  face  defied  you, 
for  it  could  put  on  twenty  looks  in  the  course  of  a  short  con- 
versation, thanks  to  her  heavy  eyebrows,  which  were  full  of 
play  and  character,  and  thanks  to  the  long  lashes  of  her  eye- 
lids, whose  drop  or  lift,  whose  languishing  falls,  and  arch  or 
scornful  or  playful  erections,  changed  the  meaning  of  her 
glances  for  her  as  she  chose,  rendering  them,  at  her  will, 
transparently  eloquent  or  as  inscrutable  as  a  gypsy's  gaze. 
She  put  her  hand  upon  her  dress,  and  Antonio  interpreted. 

"The  lady's  gown  will  not  last  three  months,  and  then, 
senor?" 

"Chaw!"  cried  Greaves,  and,  pointing  with  something  of 
passion  to  the  island,  he  exclaimed — "Ask  the  lady  to  put  the 
clock  back  till  the  day  before  yesterday  is  reached,  and 
then!" 


W£   START  FOR  HOME.  219 

On  this  being  explained  a  flash  of  temper  lighted  up  her 
eyes. 

"I  shall  be  in  rags,"  said  she,  "before  you  reach  your 
country." 

"We  have  needles   and    thread    on   board,"  said   Greaves 

coolly. 

"You  are  men,  and  cannot  conceive  what  it  is  to  be  a 
woman  embarking  on  a  long  voyage,  possessed  of  no  more 
clothes  than  what  she  has  on." 

"How  can  we  comfort  her?"  said  I. 

"Can  the  sefiorita  sew?"  said  Greaves. 

Certainly  she  could  sew. 

"Then,"  said  Greaves,  "if  the  senorita  can  sew,  let  her 
mind  be  at  rest.  I  am  the  owner  of  a  roll  of  fine  duck,  which 
is  entirely  at  her  service.  There  are  yards  enough  to  yield  her 
as  many  dresses  as  she  needs.  Will  she  require  stuff  for  trim- 
ming? Let  her  select  a  flag  of  two  or  three  colors.  Bunt- 
ing makes  excellent  trimming.  It  is  light  and  brine- 
proof." 

Antonio  bungled  much,  and  squinted  fiercely  in  the  delivery 
of  this;  yet  he  contrived  to  make  the  lady  faintly  understand 
the  meaning  of  Greaves'  speech.  She  tapped  on  her  knee 
with  her  fingers,  and  seemed  to  keep  time  with  the  beat  of  her 
foot  to  an  air  that  she  inaudibly  hummed;  her  black  eyes  were 
downward  bent,  but  at  swift  intervals  the  fringes  lifted,  and  a 
glance  of  light  sparkled  at  me  or  Greaves.  I  noticed  a  pout- 
ing play  of  mouth.  In  fact,  her  air  was  that  of  a  girl  who  has 
been  spoiled  by  indulgence  since  her  childhood.  One  figured 
her  as  the  goddess  of  the  fandango,  the  burden  of  the  midnight 
guitar,  and  the  heroine  of  a  score  of  sweethearts. 

"Duck  is  very  well  for  dresses,  sir,"  said  I.  "She  is  think- 
ing of  under-linen." 

"We  are  not  to  know  anything  about  under-linen,"  said 
Greaves.  "She  must  make  what  she  wants.  She  doesn't 
seem  grateful  enough  to  please  me.  To  bother  me  about 
dress  now,  after  four  days  of  that  cinder,  and  the  deliverance 
recent  enough  to  keep  most  people  hysterically  sobbing  and 
thanking  God  in  fervent  ejaculations!" 

Antonio  addressed  her.  I  guessed  he  wanted  to  know  if  he 
could  go.  She  spoke  to  him,  and  the  man,  awkwardly  smiling, 
said: 

"The  senorita  asks  if  you  are  Catholics?" 

"Yes  and  no,  for  my  part,"  answered  Greaves,  looking  at 


2  20  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

her  gravely,  "I  am  heading  that  way.  I  believe  I  shall  hoist 
the  Papal  flag  yet,  but  it's  not  flying  at  present." 

"Is  the  capitan  a  Catholic?"  repeated  the  lady. 

"Ay,  but  not  a  Papist,"  said  Greaves. 

"Are  you  a  Catholic,  seiior?" 

"I  love  God  and  hate  the  devil,"  said  I.  "That  is  my 
religion.  It  is  broad,  and  there  is  room  for  many  names  upon 
its  back." 

"Is  it  customary  for  ladies,  do  you  know.  Fielding,  for 
ladies  who  have  just  been  rescued  from  the  horrors  of  a  vol- 
canic island,  from  perils  hideously  increased  by  the  associa- 
tion of  such  a  yellow  and  by  no  means  fangless  worm  as 
that" — dropping  his  head  in  a  cool  nod  at  Antonio — "to 
inquire  into  the  religious  faiths  of  their  preservers?" 

The  lady  Aurora  spoke. 

"The  senorita  wishes  to  know  when  you  changed  your 
religion?" 

"Ah,  when,  indeed?"  said  I,  laughing, 

"You  were  a  very  good  Catholic  at  Lima,  senor?" 

"Yes,  when  I  was  at  Lima,  I  was  a  very  good  Catholic?" 
said  I. 

"Then  you  are  the  cabaUero  the  senorita  supposes?" 

"Damn  ye,  you  squinting  devil,  you  know  better!"  thun- 
dered Greaves.     "Jump  forward.     We've  had  enough  of  this." 

The  man  fled  toward  the  forecastle,  noiseless  with  naked 
feet.     The  lady  looked  frightened. 

"Lima,  senorita — no!'"  said  I  smiting  my  bosom  with 
force. 

She  gazed  at  me  earnestly  with  an  expression  of  misgiving, 
then  addressed  me  in  Spanish.     Greaves  gathered  her  meaning. 

"I  believe  she  says  you  are  not  her  man,  if  you  are  not  a 
Catholic,"  said  he;  and  then  pointing  at  me,  and  looking  at 
her,  he  cried  out,  "No  Catholic — no  Lima — not  your  man,  in 
any  sense  of  the  word.  Fielding,  what's  that  Dutch  devil  Bol 
up  to?" 

I  went  to  the  side  to  look  for  the  longboat.  She  was  at 
that  moment  coming  through  the  two  points  of  reef.  Her  oars 
rose  and  fell  in  the  distance  in  hairs  of  gold,  and  she  seemed 
to  tow  a  hair  of  gold  in  her  wake  as  she  came  out  of  the  calm 
breast  of  the  harbor  into  the  soundless  heave  of  the  ocean.  I 
reported  her  approach  and  lay  upon  the  rail  watching  her,  and 
musing  upon  what  had  passed  between  the  Spanish  maid  and 
us. 


JV£   START  FOR  HOME.  221 

It  was  odd  to  think  of  a  fine  young  woman,  sitting  on  the 
deck  of  a  vessel,  that  had  but  a  few  hours  before  taken  her  off 
the  desolate  island  which  was  still  in  view,  coolly  inquiring 
into  the  religious  beliefs  of  her  preservers,  and  looking  as 
though,  if  time  had  been  given  her,  she  would  presently  over- 
haul our  consciences.  To  be  sure,  she  hoped  that  if  she  found 
us  Catholics,  she  would  get  more  of  her  way  with  us,  obtain 
pity,  sympathy,  enough  to  procure  her  direct  conveyance  to  a 
near  port.  She  left  her  chair,  came  close  to  my  side,  and 
stood  looking  at  the  boat;  in  a  moment,  pointing  to  it,  she 
asked  in  Spanish  for  its  name.  I  gave  her  the  name,  turning 
to  look  at  Greaves,  who  was  laughing  softly,  but  with  an 
averted  face.  She  put  more  questions,  pointing  to  the  objects, 
and  then  lightly  laying  her  fingers  upon  my  arm,  she  signed 
that  I  should  take  her  forward,  glancing  at  Greaves  as  she  did 
so,  following  the  look  on  with  a  full  stare  at  me,  and  a  shake 
of  the  head  eloquent  as  her  speech.  It  was  for  all  the  world 
as  though  she  had  said  in  plain  English,  "I  don't  like  that 
man;  let  us  leave  this  part  of  the  ship." 

I  made  her  understand  as  best  I  could,  by  pointing  to  the 
approaching  boat,  and  then  to  the  yardarm  whip  for  slinging 
the  casks  aboard,  that  my  duty  obliged  me  to  stop  where  I 
was.  She  bowed,  but  with  a  little  flush,  as  though  vexed  by 
my  refusal;  indeed,  in  her  whole  instant  manner,  there  was  the 
irritation  of  your  ladyship,  of  your  exacting,  well-served, 
much-admired,  fine  young  madam,  who  is  very  little  used  to 
being  disappointed. 

I  moved  forward  toward  the  gangway  by  two  or  three  steps, 
that  she  might  guess  my  work  prohibited  talk ;  and,  in  fact, 
conversation  would  have  been  impossible  in  a  few  minutes,  for 
the  longboat  was  fast  nearing  the  brig,  and  the  job  of  seeing 
the  water  aboard  was  mine;  and  that  was  not  all,  either. 
Greaves  was  captain;  he  was  on  deck,  watching  and  listening. 
The  influence  of  the  presence  of  a  captain  is  always  strong 
upon  the  seaman,  whether  he  be  of  the  quarter-deck  or  of  the 
forecastle.  Habit  worked  like  an  instinct,  and  disquieted  me. 
Had  Greaves  been  below,  I  daresay  I  should  have  been  very 
glad  to  keep  the  sefiorita  at  my  side,  if  only  for  the  .enjoyment 
of  meeting  her  full  gaze;  for  the  longer  I  looked  at  her  eyes, 
the  more  did  I  wonder  at  their  depth  and  life,  at  their  trans- 
cendent powers  of  repulsion  and  solicitation,  and  eloquence  of 
rapid  expression;  and  the  longer  I  listened  to  her  voice,  the 
more  was  I  charmed  by  the  sweetness  and  richness  of  it ;  and 


222  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

the  longer  I  beheld  her  face,  the  more  manifold  grew  its 
revelations.  But  its  revelations  of  what?  My  pen  has  no  art 
to  answer  that  question.  You  gaze  upon  the  face  of  the  deep, 
and  beauties  steal  out  of  it  to  your  perception,  and  you  know 
not  how  to  define  them,  you  know  not  how  to  indicate  them. 
They  come  blending  in  an  effect  that  enlarges  as  you  look, 
and  the  sum  of  the  steady  revelation  is  a  deepening  delight 
and  a  constant  growth  of  wonder.  I  hear  you  say,  "Had  a 
woman  of  Spain  ever  the  beauty  you  claim  or  invent  for  this 
lady?"  My  answer  is  as  simple  as  a  look — I  say  "Yes." 
The  Senorita  Aurora  de  la  Cueva  was  a  woman  of  Spain,  and 
she  had  the  beauty,  and  more  than  the  beauty,  I  feebly  attempt 
to  describe.  I  care  not  if  all  the  females  of  Old  Spain  are  as 
hideous  as  hobgoblins  and  witches;  they  may  all  be  bearded 
like  the  pard,  thatched  at  the  brow  with  horse  hair,  their  com- 
plexions of  chocolate,  their  figures  bolsters;  the  lady  Aurora 
was  beautiful,  her  charms  I  have  scarce  language  enough  to 
hint  at,  much  less  portray.  This  she  was,  and  whether  you 
believe  me  or  not  signifies  nothing. 

And  I  did  not  much  admire  the  woman  when  I  first  saw  her! 
thought  I.  In  fact,  had  I  rowed  her  aboard  another  ship  and 
never  seen  her  again,  I  should  never  have  thought  of  her  again. 
Is  it  to  end  in  my  making  a  fool  of  myself?  Does  a  man  make 
a  fool  of  himself  when  he  falls  in  love?  A  plague  upon  these 
cheap  cynic  phrases  which  creep  into  the  national  speech,  and 
form  the  mirth  of  boys  and  the  wisdom  of  the  sucklings  of 
literature.     But  I  am  not  in  love  yet,  anyhow,  thought  I. 

"Oars I"  roared  Bol,  in  the  stern  sheets  of  the  boat. 
"Standt  by  mit  der  boathook.  Vy  der  doyfil  doan  somebody 
gif  us  der  end  of  a  rope?" 

A  rope  was  flung.  My  lady  Aurora  walked  forward,  calling 
and  beckoning  to  Antonio.  She  arrived  abreast  of  the  galley 
and  stood  there,  and  talked  to  the  Spaniard,  pointing  about 
her  and  clearly  asking  for  the  name  of  things  in  English. 

"Fielding,"  cried  Greaves. 

"Sir,"  I  answered,  facing  about. 

"She  will  be  making  love  to  you  in  your  own  tongue  before 
another  week  is  out,"  he  called. 

"Such  a  voice  as  hers  would  keep  anything  not  deaf  listen- 
ing as  long  as  she  liked." 

"She  has  a  very  sweet  voice,"  he  exclaimed,  "and  she  is  a 
very  fine  woman.  But  should  she  pick  up  our  tongue,  you'll 
find  the  devil  that's  inside  of  her  come  drifting  out  horns  first 


WE   START  FOR   HOME.  223 

with  the  earliest  of  her  speech.  Talk  of  your  fears  of  the 
crew!  She's  the  sort  of  party  to  carry  a  ship  single-handed, 
though  the  vessel  mounted  the  guns  and  was  manned  by  the 
complement  of  the  Royal  Sovereign.  She  is  learning  English 
for  some  piratic  motive — it  may  be  the  dollars,  it  may  be  the 
brig — for  she  don't  want  to  go,  and  I  dare  say  she  don't  mean 
to  go  round  the  Horn  without  her  mother.  Bol,  is  this  the 
last  load?" 

"Der  last  loadt,  sir." 

"Bear  a  hand  then  to  whip  the  water  aboard,  and  let  us  get 
.  away. ' ' 

It  was  a  quarter  before  one  by  the  time  we  had  chocked  and 
secured  the  longboat  and  were  ready  to  start  on  a  passage 
that  was  to  carry  us  over  many  thousands  of  miles  of  salt 
water.  The  breeze  had  freshened;  soft  small  clouds,  like 
shadings  in  pencil,  were  sailing  up  off  the  edge  of  the  sea  into 
the  misty  blue  overhead;  the  luster  of  the  sun  was  still  pale 
and  brassy,  and  a  look  of  wind  was  in  the  yellow  of  the  disk- 
shaped  spread  of  radiance,  out  of  which  he  looked  like  an  eye 
of  fire  in  a  target  of  gold. 

"Make  sail,  Fielding,"  called  Greaves,  from  his  chair,  on 
which  he  had  been  sitting  ever  since  he  came  on  deck,  though 
in  all  those  hours  he  had  not  once  complained  of  pain. 
"Make  sail  and  heap  it  on  her.  Bring  her  head  due  south, 
and  let  her  go." 

The  braces  of  the  yards  of  the  main  were  manned,  the  wheel 
turned,  the  canvas  filled  as  the  fiery  breath,  that  was  now 
brushing  the  sea,  and  that  seemed  to  come  the  hotter  for  the 
very  dimness  of  the  sunshine,  gushed  over  the  quarter.  We 
squared  away  to  it;  and  now  the  island  slided  by,  opening 
features  of  its  swart,  melancholy,  loathly  rocks,  which  had 
been  invisible  before.  The  milk-white  burst  of  surge  made 
the  base  of  the  cliff  in  the  wash  of  it  black.  I  noticed  a  hov- 
ering of  pale  radiance  upon  the  patch  of  verdure  where  the 
grove  or  wood  stood.  It  was  no  more  than  a  patch  to  our 
distant  eye;  it  was  like  the  dance  of  the  South  African  silver 
tree.  The  verdure  had  the  gleam  of  an  emerald,  and  you 
thought  of  a  gem  on  the  sallow  breast  of  death. 

I  was  full  of  the  business  of  making  sail,  yet  could  find  an 
eye  for  the  island  as  it  veered  away  on  the  quarter.  Greaves 
gazed  at  it  intently,  so  did  the  lady  Aurora  as  she  stood  at  the 
rail,  with  her  profile  cut  clear  and  keen  as  a  marble  bust 
against   the    sky  over  the  horizon.     The  mouth   of  the  cave 


224  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

yawned  upon  us,  then  narrowed,  then  thinned  into  a  slice,  then 
vanished  round  a  shoulder  of  cliff. 

"Pull,  you  toyfils!  Shoomp  und  run!"  bawled  Bol,  in  his 
hurricane  note,  to  the  two  Spaniards,  who  were  loafing  near  the 
galley,  lazily  looking  on  at  the  work  that  was  going  forward. 
"Dis  vhas  not  der  islandt — dis  vhas  no  shipwreck.  Shoomp, 
or  I  make  you  fly  mit  a  sharge  of  goonpowder  in  der  slack  of 
yer  breeks." 

The  royals  were  sheeted  home;  trysail,  flying  jib,  staysails 
set;  for  it  was  a  quartering  wind,  and  there  was  scarce  a  cloth 
that  we  could  throw  abroad  but  could  do  serviceable  work. 
They  called  this  sort  of  sailing  in  our  time  going  along  all 
fluking,  the  weather-clew  of  the  mainsail  up  and  the  lee-clew 
dully  lifting  its  weight  of  blocks  and  hawser-like  sheets  and 
thick  frame  of  foot  and  bolt-rope. 

"Set  all  stu'n'-sails, "  cried  Greaves;  and  soon  out  to  wind- 
ward soared  to  their  several  yardarms  and  to  their  boom-ends 
those  wide,  overhanging  spaces  of  sail,  clothing  the  brig  in 
surf- white  cloths  from  the  royal  mast  heads  to  the  very  heave 
of  the  brine,  when  she  rolled  lier  swinging-boom  to  windward. 

"Pipe  to  dinner!"  called  Greaves. 

The  sweet,  clear  strains  of  Yan  Bol's  whistle  found  a  hun- 
dred echoes  in  the  hollows  on  high.  Aurora  gazed  upward,  as 
though  looking  for  the  birds.  The  men  had  worked  hard,  and 
were  pale  with  heat  and  sweat.  They  had  worked  with  a  will 
in  making  sail.  Even  the  Dutchmen  had  sprang  along  and  aloft 
with  a  bluejacket's  activity;  for  we  were  homeward  bound!  a 
cry  in  every  marine  heart  magical  in  its  inspiration  of  swift  and 
eager  labor.  With  dripping  brows  the  men  stood  looking  at  the 
receding  island,  while  Yan  Bol  whistled  them  to  dinner;  and 
when  the  burly  Dutch  boatswain  let  fall  the  pipe  upon  his 
breast  to  the  length  of  its  laniard,  all  hands,  moved  by  feelings 
which  made  every  throat  one  for  the  moment,  roared  out  a 
long,  wild  cheer  of  farewell  to  the  island,  flourishing  caps  and 
arms  to  it,  as  though  its  heights  were  crowded  with  friends 
who  could  see  and  hear  them. 

"Look  at  Galloon!"  cried  Greaves. 

The  dog  was  on  the  taffrail,  and  every  bark  he  sent  at  the 
island  was  like  a  loud  hurrah,  with  the  significance  the  noise 
look  from  the  wagging  of  the  creature's  tail  and  the  set  of  the 
whole  figure  of  him. 

"He  knows  we  are  homeward  bound,"  said  Greaves. 

"And  that  the  dollars  are  aboard,"  said  I. 


IVE   START  FOR  HOME.  225 

Miss  Aurora  went  to  the  dog,  caressed,  and  talked  to  him. 
The  lad  Jimmy's  head  showed  at  the  galley  door.  Greaves 
hailed  him  to  know  when  dinner  would  be  ready. 

"Another  twenty  minutes,  master." 

"Heave  the  log,  Fielding,  and  let's  get  the  pace  at  the  start." 

All  expression  of  pain  was  now  passed  out  of  his  face;  like- 
wise had  his  natural,  fresh  color  returned  to  him.  The  tri- 
umph of  this  time  had  kindled  his  eyes  anew,  and  there  were 
pride  and  content  in  the  looks  which  he  cast  around  his  brig 
and  over  the  rail  at  the  island.  And  I  think  if  ever  there  was  a 
man  who  had  a  right  to  feel  satisfied  with  himself  and  his  work, 
Greaves,  at  this  time,  was  he;  for,  truly,  something  more  than 
talent  had  gone  to  the  discovery  of  the  dollars  in  the  caverned 
ship.  Mere  accident  it  was  that  had  disclosed  the  vessel,  but 
it  needed  the  genius  of  a  great  adventurer  to  light  upon  the 
dollars,  to  note  all  the  particulars  of  the  Spanish  manifest,  to 
hold  the  secret  behind  his  teeth  till  he  got  home,  to  inspire 
such  an  old  hunks  as  Bartholomew  Tulp  with  confidence 
enough  to  shed  his  blood„or,  in  other  words,  to  disburse  his 
money,  in  the  furtherance  of  this  enterprise  of  recovery. 

I  called  a  couple  of  men  aft  and  hove  the  log.  What  is  the 
log?  It  is  a  reel  round  which  are  wound  many  fathoms  of 
line;  at  the  end  of  the  line  is  attached  a  piece  of  wood,  some- 
times a  canvas  bag,  designed  to  grip  the  water  when  it  is  hove 
overboard.  The  line  is  spaced  into  knots,  and  the  running  of 
it  is  timed  by  a  glass  of  sand.  This  log  is  one  of  the  oldest 
contrivances  we  have  at  sea.  With  it  the  early  navigators 
groped  their  way  about  the  world.  It  found  them  New  Hol- 
land and  the  Indies,  and  both  Americas.  It  was  their  longi- 
tude and  often  their  latitude.  It  was  their  chronometer  and 
sextant.  We  use  it  still,  and  cannot  better  it.  A  simple  and 
noble  old  contrivance  is  the  log.  May  the  mariner  never  lose 
faith  in  it !  Crutched  by  the  log  on  one  side,  and  the  lead  on 
the  other,  he  may  hobble  round  the  globe  in  safety,  defiant  of 
shoals,  regardless  of  fogs. 

I  hove  the  log,  and  made  the  speed  seven  knots. 

"A  good  start!"  exclaimed  Greaves,  rising  and  coming 
slowly  to  the  rail,  and  looking  over.  He  walked  without 
inconvenience  or  pain,  and  stood  with  a  thoughtful  face,  gaz- 
ing at  the  satin-white  sheets  of  foam  sliding  past.  Madam 
Aurora  left  Galloon  and  came  to  my  side,  but  Galloon  followed 
her — never  went  there  to  sea  a  friendlier,  a  more  affectionate 
dog.     The    men   were   hauling    in  the   dripping  log  line  and 


2  26  LIST,    YE  LANDSATE^r.i 

reeling  it  up.  The  lady  with  a  smile  said  with  a  very  good 
accent,  "How  do  you  call  it?"  I  laughed  as  I  pronounced  the 
word  log.  Oh,  what  should  it  convey  to  the  imagination  of  a 
Spanish  maiden? 

She  understood,  however,  for  what  purpose  it  had  been 
used,  and  with  eloquent  gestures  inquired  the  speed.  I  held 
up  my  fingers. 

"Quie?i  lo  hubiera  creidol  "  cried  she. 

"She  is  not  grumbling,  I  hope,"  called  Greaves  from  the 
rail,  and  he  slowly  approached  us. 

The  lady  looked  for  a  little  while  very  earnestly  at  the  cap- 
tain, with  a  world  of  meaning  in  her  beautiful  eyes — meaning 
so  eloquent  in  desire  of  expression,  that  it  was  pathetic  to 
witness  the  arrest  of  speech  in  her  gaze  and  face.  She  then 
with  grace  and  dignity  motioned  round  the  sea. 

"It  is  very  wide,  and  the  voyage  before  us  is  a  long  one — I 
understand  that,"  interpreted  Greaves;  and  never  did  man 
peruse  lineaments  more  speaking  or  translate  glances  more 
radiant  and  expressive. 

She  then  placed  the  forefinger  of  her  right  hand  upon  her 
lips  to  signify  silence  or  dumbness. 

"Which  means,"  said  Greaves,  "that  you  can't  speak  our 
tongue,  and  don't  like  the  prospectj  accordingly." 

She  then  took  her  dress  in  her  hand,  putting  on  a  most 
mournful  countenance. 

"Yaw,  yaw,"  cried  Greaves,  with  a  little  irritation,  "we 
have  discussed  that  matter,  madam.  But  there  is  white  duck 
below — duck  for  the  duck,  what  d'ye  say.  Fielding?  and  there 
are  hussifs  in  the  fok'sle." 

I  believed  that  her  dumb  show  was  at  an  end.  Not  at  all. 
Clasping  her  hands  sparkling  with  the  several  rings  she  wore, 
and  raising  them  in  a  posture  of  supplication  to  the  level  of 
her  mouth,  she  upturned  her  face  to  the  sky,  and  with  an 
inimitable  expression  of  entreaty,  of  piteous  prayer  rather, 
insomuch  that  her  eyes  seemed  to  swim  and  her  lips  to  work, 
she  stood  while  you  could  have  counted  ten. 

"Sainted  and  purest  of  all  the  Marias,  put  pity  into  the  heart 
of  this  British  ca])tain,  and  cause  him  to  set  me  ashore,  for  the 
sea  is  wide  and  the  voyage  is  long;  and  I  am  possessed  by  a 
dumb  devil  and  cast  among  heretics;  and  I  have  but  one  gown; 
and,  O  Maria  and  ye  saints!  candles  shall  ye  have  in  plenty, 
mortification  will  I  undergo,  prayers  by  the  fathom  will  I 
recite,  choice  gifts  will  I  make  to  Holy  Mother  Church,  if  ye 


A   FIGHT.  227 

will  but  soften  the  heart  of  the  durned,  slab-sided  skipper  who 
stands  opposite  me,  interpreting  my  mind.  There  ye  have  it, 
Fielding.  That's  what  her  gestures  said,  that's  what  her  eyes 
looked.  But  1  tell  you  what— this  sort  of  thing  will  grow  tire- 
some presently.  You  must  bear  a  hand  and  teach  her  to  speak 
English." 

"Dinner's  on  the  table,  master,"  said  Jimmy,  putting  his 
head  through  the  companion  way. 

"Call  Yan  Bol  aft  to  stand  a  lookout  while  we  dine,  Field- 
ing," said  Greaves,  "and  give  your  arm  to  the  lady  and  bring 
her  below.     She  don't  like  me." 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

A    FIGHT. 

We  had  swept  the  island  out  of  sight  before  we  left  the  din- 
ner table.  When  I  came  on  deck  the  horizon  had  closed 
somewhat  upon  us.  The  ocean  was  a  weak  blue,  and  ran  with 
a  frosty  sparkle  into  a  sort  of  film  or  thickness  that  went  all 
round  the  sea.  The  breeze  had  freshened,  and  it  whipped  the 
waters  into  little  billows,  with  yearning  and  snapping  heads  of 
foam,  and  it  was  pouring  its  increasing  volume  into  the  lofty 
height  and  wide  expanse  of  canvas  under  which  the  brig  was 
thrusting  along  in  a  staggering,  rushing  way,  the  glass-smooth 
curve  of  brine  at  the  bow  breaking  abreast  of  the  gangway  with 
a  twelve-knot  flash  of  the  foam  into  the  throbbing  race  of  the 
long  wake. 

We  kept  her  so  throughout  the  afternoon  until  six  o'clock, 
when  the  evening  began  to  darken  eastward ;  we  then  took  in 
the  lower  and  topgallant  studding  sails,  but  left  her  to  drag  the 
fore  topmast  studding  sails  if  she  could  not  carry  it,  for  this  was 
wind  to  make  the  most  of;  we  could  not,  to  our  impatience, 
come  up  with  the  Horn  too  soon;  many  parallels  were  there 
for  our  keel  to  cut  before  we  should  find  ourselves  abreast  of 
that  headland;  degrees  of  latitude  lying  like  hurdles  for  the 
brig  to  take  along  that  mighty  and  majestic  course  of  ocean. 

That  same  night  of  the  day  of  our  departure  from  the  island, 
Greaves  came  out  of  the  cabin  and  walked  the  deck  with  me. 
He  had  been  amusing  himself  for  an  hour  below  with  the  com- 
pany of  the  Senorita  Aurora.  From  time  to  time  I  had  watched 
them  through  the  skylight.  He  smoked  a  cigar;  a  glass  of 
grog  stood  at  his  elbow,  some  wine  and  ship's  biscuit  before 
the  lady.     He  held  a  pencil,  and  from  time   to  time  wrote, 


2  28  LIST,    VE  LANDSMEN ! 

looking  up  at  her;  and  she  would  bend  over  the  paper,  read, 
give  him  a  dignified  nod,  take  the  pencil,  and  herself  write. 

But  it  seemed  to  me  that  she  forced  herself  to  endure  this 
tuition.  She  held  herself  as  much  away  from  him  as  the  obli- 
gation of  writing  and  extending  her  hand  and  receiving  the 
paper  permitted.  This  went  on  till  about  nine  o'clock.  The 
lady  then  withdrew,  and  Greaves  came  on  deck  as  I  have  said. 

"This  is  fine  sailing,"  said  he. 

"Ay,  indeed.  I  would  part  with  some  of  those  dollars  below 
for  a  month  of  it. ' ' 

"I  have  been  teaching  the  girl  English,  and  have  picked  up 
some  Spanish  words  from  her.  She  is  an  apt  scholar;  her 
mind  is  as  swift  as  the  light  in  her  eyes.  It  is  clever  of  her  to 
wish  to  learn  English.  We  can't  be  afways  sending  for  that 
fellow  Antonio.  She  seemed  astonished  when  I  talked  of 
three  months,  but  she  knows — she  must  know — that  the  run 
might  occupy  a  vessel  more  than  three  months.  What  change 
would  the  skipper  of  the  craft  she  sailed  out  of  Acapulco  in  be 
willing  to  give  out  of  four  months,  ay,  and  perhaps  five,  in  a 
passage  to  Cadiz?" 

"She,  perhaps,  thought  of  herself  as  being  without  clothes 
when  you  talked  of  three  months,  and  so  cried  out." 

"Well,  it  is  clever  of  her  to  wish  to  learn  English.  Here 
she  is,  and  here  she's  likely  to  remain  until  we  send  her  ashore 
in  the  Downs." 

"But  why?" 

"Why?" 

"Is  there  no  chance  of  something  coming  along,"  said  I, 
"in  which  we  can  send  her  to  a  port  this  side  America?" 

"She  knows  there  is  a  big  treasure  on  board." 

"That's  sure." 

"She  knows  that  it  is  Spanish  money,  and  how  got  by  us." 

"True." 

"Well,  now,  send  her  out  of  this  brig  with  our  secret  in  her 
head,  and  we  stand  to  be  chased  by  the  chap  we  put  her 
aboard  of." 

"Not  if  she  be  an  English  ship." 

"I'd  trust  no  Englishman  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Figure 
a  craft  as  heavily  armed  again  as  our  little  brig;  figure  ///«/, 
and  then  count  our  crew  forward  there.  I'll  have  no  risks. 
I'll  speak  nothing.  We  have  got  what  we  came  to  fetch,  and 
this  is  to  be  my  last  voyage.  I  am  a  rich  man  now.  There 
are  thirty- six  thousand  pounds  belonging  to  me  below.     No, 


A   FIGHT.  229 

Fielding,  the  lady  will  have  to  go  along  with  us.  You  shall 
teach  her  English,  she  shall  teach  me  Spanish.  She  shall 
pour  out  tea,  act  the  hostess,  sing;  the  very  spirit  of  melody 
swells  her  fine  throat  every  time  she  opens  her  lips.  She  shall 
make  dresses  for  herself  and  under-linen." 

"And  the  two  Spaniards?" 

"They  must  go  along  with  us  too.  They  are  a  worthless, 
skulking  pair  of  fellows,  I  fear;  but  we  must  keep  'em." 

"They  get  no  dollars?"  said  I. 

"Not  so  much  as  shall  buy  them  soap.  We  have  saved  their 
lives;  that's  good  pay  for  such  service  as  they'll  render. 
What  shall  you  do  with  your  money?" 

"Well,  I  have  often  considered,  captain,"  I  answered.  "I 
believe  I  shall  buy  a  little  house,  put  what  remains  out  at 
interest,  and  go  a-fishing  for  the  rest  of  my  days.     And  you?" 

"First  of  all,"  he  answered,  "I  shall  knock  off  the  sea.  I 
shall  then  strike  deep  inland  and  look  for  a  little  estate  in  the 
heart  of  a  midland  shire.  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  marry. 
Should  I  marry,  it  will  be  with  a  lady  of  my  own  degree  in 
life.  I  will  play  the  gentleman  only  so  far  as  I  am  entitled  by 
my  condition  to  represent  one.  I  will  be  no  sham.  There  is 
no  yardarm  high  enough  for  the  hanging  of  the  men  who,  hay- 
ing got  or  inherited  money,  set  up  as  country  gentlemen,  still 
splashed  with  the  mud  of  the  gutter  out  of  which  their  fathers 
crawled,  shaking  themselves — illiterate,  vulgar,  scorned  by  the 
footmen  who  stand  behind  their  chairs,  belly-crawlers,  title- 
lickers,  toadies.  Faugh!  I  once  made  a  rhyme  on  shams — 
four  lines — the  only  rhymes  I  ever  made  in  my  life: 

"  Pull  up  your  blinds  that  all  the  world  may  see 
The  house  you  live  in  and  the  man  you  be. 
The  blinds  are  up,  and  now  the  sun  hath  shone  : 
The  house  is  empty  and  the  man  is  gone." 

"By  which  you  mean  to  imply "  said  I. 

"By  which  I  mean  to  imply,"  he  interrupted,  "that  if  the 
lines  don't  tell  their  own  story  they  must  be  deuced  bad." 

He  stopped  to  look  at  the  compass.  The  night  was  dark, 
but  the  dusk  had  cleared.  The  clouds  raced  swiftly  over  the 
stars,  and  the  wind  blew  strong,  but  with  no  increase  of  weight 
since  we  had  taken  in  the  studding  sails.  The  brig  rushed 
along,  leaving  a  meteor's  line  of  light  iistern  of  her.  The  dim 
squares  of  her  royals  swayed  on  high  with  the  floating  stroke  of 
a  pendulum.  I  admired  the  dark  and  pallid  picture  of  the 
little  fabric  speeding  lonely  through  this  vast  field  of  night. 


230  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Greaves  came  from  the  binnacle  and  stood  beside  me. 

"Fielding,"  he  exclaimed,  with  cordiality  strong  in  his  voice, 
"it  rejoices  my  heart  when  I  reflect  that  I,  whose  life  you 
saved,  should,  by  a  very  miracle  of  chance,  be  the  one  man 
chosen,  as  it  were,  to  substantially,  and  I  may  say  handsomely, 
serve  you." 

"I  shall  walk  through  my  days  blessing  your  name,"  said  I, 
grasping  the  hand  he  extended.  "And  how  have  you  repaid 
me?  You  have  not  only  preserved  me  from  drowning,  you 
make  me  easy  for  the  rest  of  my  time. ' ' 

"The  accounts  are  squared  to  my  taste,"  said  he.  "I  am 
very  well  satisfied.  To-morrow  I  shall  want  you  to  take  stock 
of  the  cases  in  the  lazarette.     You  found  them  heavy?" 

"All,  sir." 

"And  all  are  full,  no  doubt.  But  you  shall  make  sure  for 
me. 

"I  shall  want  help,"  said  I.  "Whom  shall  I  choose  among 
the  crew?" 

"It  matters  not,"  he  answered.  "All  hands  know  the 
money   is  there." 

"Yes;  but  it  is  an  idea  to  them  now.  When  they  come  to 
see  the  sparkle  of  the  white  dollars!" 

"There  is  no  good  in  distrusting  them,"  said  he.  "lam 
aware  that  your  fears  run  that  way.  When  we  were  outward 
bound  your  fears  ran  in  another  direction,"  he  added  dryly. 
"Let  me  tell  you  this,  whether  we  choose  to  trust  the  men  or 
not,  they're  aboard;  they  man  the  ship;  they  are  the  people 
who  are  to  navigate  her  home.  We  must  trust  them,"  he 
repeated  with  emphasis.  "In  fact,"  he  continued  after  a  short 
pause,  "I  would  set  an  example  of  good  faith  by  letting  them 
understand  how  entirely  I  trust  them.  Therefore,  to-morrow, 
take  Bol  and  two  others  of  the  men  who  were  left  aboard  me 
when  you  went  to  the  Casada,  and  examine  the  cases  in  their 
presence,  you  testing,  they  moving  the  boxes  for  you." 

I  replied  in  the  customary  sea  phrase;  for  this  was  a  direct 
order,  the  wisdom  of  which  it  was  no  duty  of  mine  to  chal- 
lenge.    Shortly  afterward  lie  went  below. 

It  blew  so  fresh  that  night  and  next  day,  however,  that  the 
sea  ran  too  high  to  enable  me  to  get  below  among  the  cases. 
It  was  a  spell  of  wild,  hard  weather  for  that  part  of  the 
world,  though  it  never'  blew  so  fierce  as  to  olDlige  us  to 
heave-to. 

The  gale  held  steady  on  the  quarter  and  we  stormed  along, 


A    FIGHT.  231 

the  white  seas  rising  in  clouds  as  high  as  the  foretop  and  blow- 
ing ahead  like  vast  bursts  of  steam  from  the  hatchway. 

Greaves  pressed  the  brig,  and  she  rushed  through  the  surge 
in  madness.  I  never  before  saw  a  vessel  spring  through  the 
seas  as  did  the  Black  Watch  at  this  time  under  a  single-reefed 
foresail  and  double-reefed  topsails.  She'd  be  in  a  smother 
forward,  just  a  seething  dazzle  of  yeast  'twixt  the  forecastle 
rails,  everything  hidden  that  way  in  a  snowstorm,  so  that  you'd 
think  the  whole  length  of  her  was  thundering  into  the  boiling 
whiteness  about  her  bows;  but  in  a  breath  she'd  leap,  black 
and  streaming,  to  the  height  of  the  lifting  sea,  with  a  toss  of 
the  head  that  filled  the  wind  with  crystals  and  prisms  of  brine, 
while  a  long-drawn  whistling  and  hooting  came  out  of  the  fab- 
ric of  her  slanting  masts,  and  the  water  blew  forward  in  Avhite 
smoke  from  the  gushing  scuppers. 

Then  came  a  change ;  the  dawn  of  the  third  morning  .painted 
a  delicate  lilac  along  the  eastern  sky,  and  when  the  sun  rose 
over  the  wide  Pacific  the  morning  was  one  of  cloudless 
splendor. 

At  eight  o'clock  Yan  Bol  came  aft  to  take  charge  of  the 
deck.  I  told  him  that  presently  we  would  be  going  into  the 
lazarette  to  take  stock  of  the  cases  of  silver,  and  that  the 
captain  would  keep  a  lookout  while  he  was  below. 

A  dull  light  glittered  in  the  eyes  of  the  big  Dutchman.  He 
grinned  and  said,  "Vill  not  she  be  a  long  shob,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"Yes,"  said  I. 

"How  long  shall  she  take  a  man  to  gount  a  tousand  dollars? 
Und  dere  vhas  hoondreds  und  tousands  of  dollars  to  gount 
below." 

"Do  you  think  I  mean  to  count  the  dollars?" 

"Yaw." 

I  arched  my  eyebrows  at  him,  and  then  gave  him  my  back.  ■ 

"Veil,  I  vhas  sorry.  I  like  gounting  money.  Dere  vhas  a 
shoy  in  der  feel  of  money  if  so  be  ash  he  vhas  gold  or  silver — 
I  do  not  love  copper — dot  makes  me  happier,  Mr.  Fielding, 
dan  any  odder  pleasure.  Ox  me  vhy  und  I  tells  you?  Because 
vhen  I  gounts  money  she  vhas  mine  own.  No  man  gives  me 
his  money  to  gount.  She  vhas  mine  own;  but  leedle  I  have, 
and  vhen  I  counts  her  it  vhas  after  long  years,  so  dot  der 
pleasure  vhas  all  der  same  as  a  pipe  und  a  pot  to  a  man  vhen 
he  comes  out  of  der  lockoop." 

While  I  breakfasted  I  enjoyed  some  conversation  in  dumb 
show  with  the  lady  Aurora — dumb  show  for  the  most  part,  I 


232  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

should  say — for  a  number  of  English  words  she  now  possessed, 
and  I  was  astonished  not  more  by  her  memory  than  by  the 
excellence  of  her  pronunciation.  Her  knowledge  of  a  single 
word  uttered  by  me  seemed  to  light  up  the  whole  phrase  to  her 
perception.  Her  gaze  would  continue  passionately  wistful 
and  expectant  whenever  she  listened  with  a  desire  to  under- 
stand, and  whenever  she  seized  or  thought  she  had  seized  the 
sense  of  what  was  said,  a  flush  visited  her  cheeks,  her  whole 
face  brightened. 

There  was  a  degree  of  eagerness  in  this  desire  of  hers  to 
learn  English  that  was  a  little  perplexing.  It  was  an  earnest- 
ness, call  it  an  enthusiasm  if  you  will,  that  went  beyond  my 
idea  of  her  need.  It  was  intelligible  that  she  should  wish  to 
make  herself  understood.  She  would  now  know  that  she  was 
to  be  locked  up  in  a  ship  with  a  number  of  Englishmen  for 
three  or  four  months;  what  more  reasonable  than  that  she 
should  desire  to  make  her  wants  intelligible  without  being 
forced  upon  so  disagreeable  and  ignorant  an  interpreter  as 
Antonio,  and  without  seeking  expression  in  grimaces  and  the 
lunatic  language  of  the  eyebrows,  shoulders,  and  hands? 
What  more  reasonable,  I  ask?  But  her  earnestness,  her  zeal, 
her  satisfaction  when  she  understood,  caused  me  to  wonder 
somewhat  when  I  thought  of  her  in  this  way.  She  was  on  a 
desert  island  a  few  days  ago,  with  small  prospect  of  deliverance 
from  as  frightful  a  fate  as  could  well  befall  a  woman.  For  all 
she  knew  her  mother  was  drowned;  she  might  be  an  orphan, 
and  who  was  to  tell  what  property  belonging  to  her  and  her 
mother  had  sunk  in  the  Spaniard  from  which  she  had  escaped, 
supposing  that  vessel  to  have  foundered?  And  yet  spite  of  all 
this  her  spirits  were  good,  her  beauty  growing  as  the  lingering 
traces  of  her  suffering  died  out.  She  took  an  interest  in  every- 
thing her  eyes  rested  upon,  questioning  me  like  a  child,  ques- 
tioning Greaves,  nay,  walking  forward,  as  I  have  told  you,  to 
ask  Antonio  for  the  English  names  of  things,  and  all  the  while 
her  troubles,  so  far  as  she  was  able  to  express  them,  did  not 
go  beyond  an  anxiety  as  to  clothes  for  herself  and  an  eager- 
ness to  pick  up  our  tongue. 

These  thoughts  ran  in  my  head  as  I  ate  my  breakfast,  while 
she  talked  to  me  by  gesticulation,  occasionally  uttering  a  word 
or  two  in  English,  and  listening  Avith  shining  eyes  to  the  sen- 
tences I  let  fall  in  my  own  speech.  Greaves  lay  upon  a  locker. 
He  listened,  sometimes  smiling,  but  rarely  spoke.  He  com- 
plained  this  morning  of  an  aching  in   his   side  where  he  had 


A    FIGHT.  233 

hurt  himself,  and  said  that  he  feared  he  had  made  a  mistake  in 
walking  yesterday;  he  was  afraid  he  had  overworked  the 
bruised  ribs,  but  he  looked  well,  and  when  he  spoke  there  was 
a  heartiness  in  his  voice.  It  was  as  likely  as  not  that  he  had 
angered  the  bruise  by  too  much  walking  about  the  decks,  and 
I  advised  him  to  lie  up  until  the  pain  went. 

However,  the  brig  was  to  be  watched  while  I  went  into  the 
lazarette  with  Bol  and  the  others,  so  I  sent  Jimmy  on  deck 
with  a  chair,  and  when  I  had  breakfasted  Greaves  got  up,  put 
his  hand  upon  my  shoulder,  and  together  we  ascended  the 
companion  ladder. 

Yan  Bol  was  carpenter  as  well  as  bo'sun  and  sail-maker.  I 
bade  him  fetch  the  necessary  tools  for  opening  the  cases  and 
securing  them  again.  With  us  went  Henry  Call  and  another 
— I  forget  who  that  man  was.  We  lighted  a  couple  of  lanterns, 
and  going  into  the  cabin  lifted  the  lazarette  hatch  that  was  just 
abaft  the  companion  steps.  The  lady  Aurora  came  to  the 
square  hole  to  look  at  us,  and  inquired  by  signs  what  we  were 
going  to  do.  I  shrugged  Spanish  fashion,  and  made  a  face  at 
her,  that  she  might  gather  that  what  we  were  going  to  do  was 
entirely  beyond  the  art  of  my  shoulders  and  arms  to  commu- 
nicate. 

"Doan  she  shpeak  no  English,  Mr.  Fielding?"  said  Bol,  as 
he  handed  down  his  tools  to  Call,  who  was  already  in  the 
lazarette. 

"No,"  said  I. 

"Veil,  I,  Yan  Bol,  teaches  him  herself  in  a  month  for  von 
of  her  rings." 

"Over  with  ye,  Bol.     Catch  hold  of  this  lantern." 

He  dropped  through  the  hatch  and  I  followed,  and  Miss 
Aurora  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  square  of  the  hole,  holding  by 
the  companion  steps  and  peering  down. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  forty  cases;  Ave  examined 
every  one  of  them  ;  it  was  a  long  job.  I  felt  mighty  reluctant 
at  first  to  let  Bol  prize  open  the  lids  and  gaze  with  the  others 
at  the  dull,  frosty  glitter  of  the  long  rolls  of  dollars;  but  a 
little  reflection  made  me  sensible  of  the  force  of  Greaves' 
argument.  If  the  crew  were  not  to  be  trusted,  what  was  to  be 
done?  And  was  it  not  a  mere  piece  of  cheap  quarter-deck 
subtlety  on  my  part  to  hold  that  the  idea  of  the  dollars  being 
aft  was  not  the  same  as  seeing  them? 

There  was  no  need  to  watch  very  anxiously;  the  dollars 
were  packed  as  tightly  as  though  the  metal  had  been  poured 


234  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

red-hot  into  the  cases  and  hardened  in  solid  blocks.  There 
was  never  a  nail  on  Bol's  stump-ended  fingers  that  could  have 
scratched  a  coin  out. 

"Vhas  dere  goldt  here  as  veil  ash  silver?"  he  inquired. 

"No." 

"Oxcuse  me,  Mr.  Fielding,  but  how  vhas  you  to  know?" 

"How  was  anybody  to  know  what  these  cases  contained  at 
all?  Shove  ahead,  will  ye,  and  ask  fewer  questions.  Are  we 
to  be  here  all  day?" 

It  was  as  hot  as  fire  in  this  lazarette.  Our  blood  was  speed- 
ily in  a  blaze  and  our  clothes  soaked.  The  three  Jews  who 
were  summoned  from  the  province  of  Babylon  to  be  hove  into 
a  burning  furnace  suffered  not  as  we  did.  Bol's  eyes  took  a 
gummy  look  and  turned  dull  as  bits  of  jelly  fish;  yet  the  three 
fellows  were  perfectly  happy  in  staring  at  the  silver  and  pulling 
the  cases  about.  Every  time  a  lid  was  lifted  their  heads  came 
together  in  the  sheen  of  the  lantern,  and  rude  sounds  of 
rejoicing  broke  from  them. 

"How  many  sprees  goes  to  each  box?" 

"There's  an  Atlantic  Ocean  of  drink  in  this  here  case  alone." 

"Smite  me,  but  if  this  gets  blown  the  girls'll  be  coming 
down  to  meet  the  brig  afore  she's  reported." 

"She  vhas  a  handsome  coin.  I  likes  to  feel  her  in  mine 
pocket.     How  much  vhas  she  vurth,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"All  that  you  shall  be  able  to  buy  with  her.  Next  case, 
and  bear  a  hand." 

"How  many  tousand   dollars  vhas  tdere  in  all?" 

"Enough  to  stiffen  you  with  sausage  and  to  keep  ye  oozy 
with  schnapps." 

We  worked  our  way  to  the  bottom  case,  and  ever}'^  case  was 
chock-a-block,  as  we  say  at  sea — filled  flush — and  the  dollars 
by  the  lantern  light  resembled  exquisitely  wrought  chain 
armor.  I  saw  that  every  case  was  securely  nailed;  the  boxes 
were  restowed.  We  then  climbed  out  of  the  lazarette,  and 
Bol  and  the  others  went  forward  while  I  put  on  the  hatch, 
padlocked  it,  and  withdrew  the  key. 

I  plunged  my  fire-red  face  in  water,  quickly  shifted,  and 
quitted  the  cabin,  tired,  burning  hot,  but  very  well  satisfied 
with  the  morning's  work.  Greaves  was  seated  in  a  chair,  and 
Miss  Aurora  walked  the  deck,  in  the  shadow  of  the  little  awn- 
ing, pacing  the  planks  abreast  of  him.  Her  carriage,  to  use 
the  old-fashioned  word,  had  she  been  draped  as  the  beauties  of 
her   person  demanded,    would  liave   been   lofty  yet    flowing, 


A    FIGHT.  235 

dignified  yet  easy  and  floating,  graceful  as  the  motions  of  a 
dancer  who  swims  from  the  dance  into  walking;  but  the  bar- 
baric cut  of  her  gown  spoiled  all.  Never  did  I  behold  a 
woman's  dress  so  ridiculously  shaped.  It  was  a  grief  to  an 
English  eye,  for  in  my  country  the  girls'  costumes  were  just 
such  as  would  have  hit  and  sweetened  by  suggestion  the  form 
of  Miss  Aurora.  Well  do  I  remember  the  English  girls'  style 
of  1815;  the  neckerchief  with  its  peep  of  white  breast,  the 
girdle  under  the  swelling  bosom,  the  fair  up  and  down  fall  of 
drapery  thence.  Never  do  I  recall  that  costume,  with  its  hat 
of  chip  or  leghorn,  without  a  fancy  of  the  smell  of  buttercups 
and  daisies,  the  flavor  of  cream,  the  scent  of  a  milkmaid  fresh 
from  the  udder. 

I  handed  the  key  to  Greaves.  He  put  it  in  his  pocket  and 
gazed  at  me  inquiringly. 

"It's  all  right,  sir,  to  the  bottom  dollar,"  said  I. 

"Good!"  he  exclaimed. 

"It  is  so  much  right,"  said  I,  "that  I  am  disposed  to  think 
there  is  more  money  than  the  manifest  represents." 

"There  are  five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  one 
hundred  and  forty  cases.  I  wish  there  may  be  more,  but  I 
suspect  the  entry  was  correct.     What  did  the  men  say?" 

"Yan  Bol  was  all  a-rumble  with  questions.  There  will  be 
much  talk  forward." 

"There  has  been  much  talk  aft,"  he  exclaimed,  smiling. 
"Sailors  are  human,  and  those  fellows  yonder  are  to  pocket 
twelve  hundred  dollars  apiece  besides  their  wages  on  this  job. 
Let  them  talk.  Let  imagination  run  away  with  them.  Let 
the  fiddle  be  jigging  in  their  ears;  let  their  Polls  be  seated  on 
their  knees — in  fancy.  Keep  their  hearts  willing,  for  this 
bucket  has  to  be  whipped  home." 

The  lady  Aurora  looked  and  listened  as  she  paced  abreast 
of  us.  Her  eyes,  full  of  light,  often  rested  on  me.  Greaves 
ran  his  gaze  slightly  over  her  figure,  and,  leaning  back  in  his 
chair  and  looking  away,  that  she  might  not  suspect  he  talked 
of  her,  said: 

"Our  dark  and  lonely  friend  is  mighty  full  of  curiosity.  I 
can  believe  that  Eve  was  such  another.  When  Eve  walked 
round  the  apple  tree  and  looked  up  at  the  fruit,  with  her  head 
a  little  on  one  side,  she  wore  just  the  sort  of  expression  the 
dark  and  lonely  party  puts  on  when  she  motions  a  question." 

''Que  hora  es,  senor?"  said  the  lady. 

Greaves  made  her  understand,  by  pronouncing  the   word 


236  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

"one"  in  Spanish  and  by  gesticulating  the  remainder  of  his 
meaning,  that  it  was  drawing  on  to  two  o'clock. 

"She  may  be  hungry,"  said  I. 

"She  shall  be  fed  in  a  few  minutes,"  said  Greaves. 

The  girl  seated  herself  on  the  skylight  and  watched  the 
motion  of  Greaves'  lips,  listening,  at  the  same  time,  with  a 
little  frown  of  attention  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  words  he 
coolly  delivered: 

"I  was  observing,"  said  he,  with  an  askant  glance  at  her, 
"that  the  dark  and  lonely  party  is  mighty  full  of  curiosity. 
She  tried  to  pump  me  about  the  dollars  below;  wanted  to 
know  what  you  were  doing  in  the  hold;  asked  the  value  of  the 
treasure." 

"How  did  you  understand  her?" 

"She  beckoned  to  Antonio;  but  when  I  found  she  had  no 
more  to  say  than  that,  I  sent  him  forward  again  with  a  sea 
blessing  on  his  head.  And  when  I  was  taking  sights  she  put 
out  her  hand  for  my  quadrant.  I  let  her  hold  it.  She 
clapped  it  to  her  eye — shutting  the  eye  to  which  she  put  it,  of 
course — fell  to  fingering  the  thing,  and  I  took  it  from  her.  I 
wish  she  wasn't  so  handsome.  A  little  mustache,  a  pretty 
shadowing  of  beard,  the  Valladolid  complexion,  and  a  few 
chocolate  teeth  would  make  the  difference  I  want,  to  enable 
me  to  look  my  meaning  when  she  teases  me  with  questions. 
But  who  could  be  angry  with  the  owner  of  those  eyes?" 

He  gazed  at  her  fully.     She  averted  her  face  suddenly.     I 
fancied  I  caught  a  fleeting  expression  of  aversion,  or,  at  all 
events,  of  distrust.     She  flashed  her  eyes  upon  me  with  a  gaze 
as  significant   as  though   she    understood   what  Greaves  had 
been  talking  about,  rose  from  the  skylight,  and  motioned  me 
to  walk  with  her.     Greaves  left  his  chair  and  stepped  slowly 
to  the  companion  way.     At  this  moment  Jimmy  came  along 
with  the  cabin  dinner.     The  lady,  inclining  her  face  to  my 
ear,  spoke  low  in  Spanish,  pointed  to  the  cabin  skylight,  shook 
her  head,  then  pressed  her  forefinger  to  her  lip,  all  which,  in 
plain   English,    meant:    "I    don't   like  him."      I   could  have 
answered  that  she  owed  her  life  to  him  as  master  of  the  ship, 
and  that  his  offhand  manners  were  British,  and  meant  nothing. 
"Dinner,"  said  I. 
"Dinner,"  she  repeated,  smiling. 
She  repeated  the  word  several  times. 
"Will  you  come?"  said  I. 
These   words   she   likewise    repeated;    then,    giving    me   a 


A    FIGHT.  237 

little  bow,  she  exended  her  hand,  that  I  might  conduct  her 
below. 

The  evening  of  this  same  day  was  soft  and  beautiful,  rich 
with  the  lights  of  heaven;  the  ocean  so  calm  that  some  of  the 
most  brilliant  of  the  luminaries  found  reflection  in  the  water — 
tremulous,  wire-like  lines  of  silver;  yet  had  the  breeze  body 
enough  to  give  the  brig  way.  It  came  fanning  and  breathing 
cool  as  dew  off  the  dark  surface  of  the  sea,  and  the  refresh- 
ment of  it  after  the  fiery  heat  of  the  day  was  as  drink  to  the 
parched  throat. 

I  walked  in  the  gangway,  smoking  a  pipe.  It  was  shortly 
after  eight  o'clock.  Yan  Bol  was  aft  with  Greaves.  The  lady 
Aurora  was  in  the  cabin  writing  with  a  pencil.  Some  seamen 
were  in  the  bows  of  the  brig;  their  shadowy  figures  flitted  to 
and  fro,  all  very  quietly.  Voices  proceeded  from  the  other 
side  of  the  caboose;  the  speakers  did  not  probably  know  that 
I  walked  near.  I  could  not  choose  but  listen.  One  was  An- 
tonio, the  other  Wirtz,  and  the  third  Thomas  Teach. 

"What  I  don't  understand's  this,"  said  the  voice  of  Teach. 
"Th'ole  man  [meaning  Captain  Greaves]  falls  in  with  that 
there  ship  locked  up  in  the  island,  and  boards  her.  He  finds 
the  silver — why  didn't  he  take  it,  instead  of  leaving  it  with  a 
chance  of  the  vessel  going  to  pieces,  or  some  covey  a-nabbing 
the  dollars  afore  he  could  come  back  for  them?" 

"Dot  may  seem  all  right  to  you,"  said  Wirtz,  "but  see  here, 
Tommy;  shuppose  der  captain  had  took  der  dollars  into  der 
ship  he  commanded  vhen  he  falls  in  mit  der  island;  vhat  do 
his  crew  say?  Und  vhen  he  arrives  vhat  vhas  he  to  do  mit  der 
dollars?  Gif  dem  oop  to  der  owners  of  his  ship?  By  Cott, 
he  see  dem  dom'd  first.  If  he  keep  der  dollars  for  himself, 
how  vhas  he  going  to  landt  dem  on  der  sly  mitout  der  crew 
asking  him  for  one-half,  maybe,  and  making  him  like  as  he 
can  hang  himself  for  der  rest?  Dot's  vhere  she  vhas.  No, 
no,"  rumbled  the  man  in  his  deep,  Dutch  voice,  "der 
capt'n  know  his  beesiness.  Dis  trip  for  der  dollars  vhas  vhat 
you  English  call  shipshape  und  Pristol  fashion." 

"Is  the  dollars  to  be  run,  I  wonder,  when  we  gets  home?" 
said  Teach. 

"Do  you  mean  shmuggled?" 

"Yaw,  smuggled's  the  word,  Yonny,"  said  Teach. 

"Veil,  if  dey  vhas  not  run  dey  vhas  seized." 

"Who's  a-going  to  seize  'em?" 

"Ox  der  captain," 


238  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"I'd  blow  the  blooming  brains  out  of  any  man's  head  as  laid 
a  finger  on  my  share,"  said  Teach. 

"Yaw,  und  you  gif  me  der  pleasure  of  seeing  you  hanging 
oop  by  der  neck.  IJen  I  pulls  off  my  hat,  und  I  say  how  vhas 
she  oop  dere  mit  you?     Vhas  he  pretty  vindy  oop  dere?" 

"When  I  gets  my  share,'  said  Teach,  after  a  pause,  "I'm 
a-going  in  for  a  buster.  There'll  be  no  half-laughs  and  purs- 
er's grins  about  the  gallivanting  I've  chalked  out  for  myself. 
There's  Galen  always  a-telling  us  what  he's  going  to  do  with 
his  money;  sometimes  he's  a-going  to  buy  a  share  in  a  vessel; 
then,  no,  dumm'd  if  he  is,  he'll  buy  a  house  and  put  his  young 
woman  into  it;  then  no,  dumm'd  if  he'll  do  that,  he'll  clap  his 
money  in  a  bank,  and  wait  till  the  figures  grow  big  enough  to 
allow  of  his  living  like  a  gent  for  the  remainder  of  his 
days." 

"Vhen  I  gets  my  money  dis  vhas  my  shoke,"  said  the 
Dutchman.  "My  girl  shall  teach  me  to  eat.  She  shall  puy 
me  a  silver  fork.  By  Cott,  I  drink  mine  beer  out  of  silver. 
Every  day  I  hov  veal  broth,  und  sausages,  peas  und  salad, 
stewed  apple  und  ham,  und  pickled  herrings  mit  smoked  beef, 
und  butter  und  sheese,  und  I  shjjlits  myself  mit  almonds  und 
raisins." 

"I  like  the  taste  of  the  Dutch!"  cried  Antonio,  in  a  voice 
that  sounded  thin  and  almost  shrill  after  Wirtz's.  "When  I 
get  my  money  see  what  it  shall  bring  me;  white  cod  and 
onions  ■  from  Galicia,  Avalnuts  from  Biscay,  oranges  from 
Mercia,  sausages  from  Estramadura" — here  he  loudly  smacked 
his  lips — "sweet  citrons  and  iced  barley-water  and  water- 
melons. Vayal  What  have  you  to  say  now  to  your  veal 
broth  and  salt  herrings?  And  I  will  have  Malaga  raisins,  and 
my  olives  shall  come  from  Seville,  and  my  grapes  and  figs  from 
Valencia.  Vaya  !  I  am  a  Spaniard,  and  tliis  is  how  a  Spaniard 
chooses.  All  that  is  good  may  be  had  in  Madrid,  and  all  that 
is  good  will  I  have  when  my  share  is  paid  me." 

There  fell  a  short  silence  as  of  astonishment. 

"Share!"  cried  Wirtz  in  a  low,  deep,  trembling  voice. 
"Share  didt  you  say?  Sh peak  again.  I  like  tohear  dot  verdt 
vonce  more." 

"Share!  What  share  are  ye  talking  about.  Ye  aint  think- 
ing of  the  dollars  below,  I  hope?"  said  Teach,  in  a  tone  of 
menace. 

"I  expect  a  share,"  said  the  Spaniard. 

"Oxpect — say  dot  again.     I  likes  to  hear  you  shpeak,"  said 


A    FIGHT.  239 

Wirtz,  with  an  accent  that  made  me  figure  him  doubhng  his 
fist. 

"Aren't  I  a  sailor  on  board  this  ship?"  said  Antonio. 

''K  sailor,  d'ye  call  yourself?"  cried  Teach.  "Well,"  he 
snapped,  "suppose  y'  are,  what  then?" 

"I  have  a  right  to  a  share." 

"And  do  you  tink  you  get  a  share?" 

"I  have  a  right  to  a  share,"  repeated  the  Spaniard  in  a  sullen 
note. 

"Call  her  a  shoke  or  I  vill  fight  mit  you,"  said  Wirtz. 

"I  will  not  fight,"  said  the  Spaniard  in  a  dogged  voice. 
"I  have  a  right  to  a  share.  The  capitan  will  pay  me  and 
Jorge.  We  are  sailors  with  you,  and  are  helping  to  navigate 
this  brig  to  your  country.  The  dollars  are  Spanish;  they  are 
money  of  my  own  country.  The  capitan  is  a  gentleman,  and 
will  not  wrong  me  and  Jorge,  and  w^e  will  receive  our  share  as 
a  part  of  the  crew." 

This  was  followed  by  a  Dutch  oath,  by  a  crash  and  a  low  cry, 

"Hallo,  there — hallo!"  I  called.  "What  are  you  men 
about  there  on  t'other  side  the  caboose?" 

I  sprang  across  the  deck,  and,  by  such  light  as  the  stars 
made,  beheld  Antonio  in  the  act  of  getting  on  to  his  legs. 

"Mind!  He  may  have  a  knife!"  shouted  Teach.  The 
Spaniard,  uttering  a  malediction,  whipped  a  blade  from  a 
sheath  that  lay  strapped  to  his  hip,  and  flung  it  upon  the  deck. 
The  point  of  the  weapon  pierced  the  plank,  and  the  knife 
stood  upright. 

"I  am  no  assassin!  I  do  not  draw  knives  upon  men!" 
cried  Antonio. 

"Who  knocked  this  man  down?"  I  demanded. 

"I— Vertz. 

"You  are  a  bully  and  a  ruffian.  This  is  a  shipwrecked  man, 
scarce  recovered  from  great  sufferings.  He  is  half  your  size, 
too." 

"He  talked  of  his  share,  Heer  Fielding,  und  my  bloodt 
polled.  We  safe  his  life,  he  eats  und  drinks,  und  der  toyfil 
has  der  impudence  to  talk  of  his  share!" 

"Forward  there!  What  is  wrong?"  cried  the  voice  of 
Greaves.     "Where  is  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"Here,  sir." 

"What  is  wrong,  I  am  asking." 

"Come  aft  to  the  captain,  the  three  of  you,"  said  I;  and  I 
led  the  way.  • 


240  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

All  hands  were  on  deck  at  this  hour.  The  forecastle  was 
roasting,  and  the  watch  below  lay  about  the  forward  part  of 
the  decks.  The  whole  crew,  therefore,  heard  the  noise,  were 
•drawn  by  it,  and  followed  me  as  I  went  aft,  Teach  loitering  in 
my  wake  to  tell  those  who  brought  up  the  rear  that  "the 
blooming  Spaniard  was  swearing  he'd  a  right  to  a  share  of  the 
dollars,  and  that  he  was  bragging  as  how  he  meant  to  spend 
his  money  in  Madrid  on  onions  and  figs,  when  he  was  brought 
up  with  a  round  turn  by  Yonny  Vertz's  fist." 

It  is  strange  that  unto  the  eye  of  memory  the  picture  which 
the  brig  at  this  hour  made  should  stand  the  most  clearly  cut, 
the  most  sharply  defined  of  all  my  recollections  of  her.  Why 
is  this?  Because,  perhaps,  of  the  accentuation  that  night 
scene  took  from  the  shadowy  heap  of  the  men  assembled  upon 
the  quarter-deck,  from  the  quarrel  beside  the  caboose,  from 
the  significance  that  must  come  into  any  sort  of  difficulty 
aboard  us  from  the  treasure  in  the  lazarette. 

The  sails  soared  dark  and  still  in  the  weak  night-wind;  a 
brook-like  bubbling  noise  of  water  rose  from  under  the  bows; 
the  vessel  was  steeped  in  the  dye  of  the  night ;  but  there  was  a 
faint]  shining  in  the  air  round  about  the  illumir'ated  binnacle, 
and  a  dim  sheen  hovered  over  the  cabin  skylight.  The  sea 
sloped  vast  and  flat  to  the  scintillant  wall  of  the  sky.  The 
voices  of  the  men  deepened  upon  the  ear  the  silence  out  upon 
the  ocean.  It  was  a  night  to  set  the  mind  running  upon  that 
saying  and  realizing  it:  "And  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of 
the  deep;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the 
waters." 

"What's  wrong?"  said  Greaves. 

The  shapeless  figure  of  Bol  came  trudging  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  wheel  to  listen. 

"There's  been  some  sort  of  discussion  between  VVirtz  and 
Antonio,"  said  I,  "and  Wirtz  knocked  the  Spaniard  down." 

"Captain,"  exclaimed  Wirtz,  "all  hands  likes  to  know  if 
der  Spaniards  you  safe  shares  in  der  dollars?" 

"Who  began  tlie  row?"  said  Greaves. 

"Senor, "  exclaimed  Antonio,  "I  was  speaking  of  the  food 
that  we  eat  in  my  country " 

"Captain,"  bawled  Teach,  "he  was  a-bragging  of  the  cod 
and  onions,  the  nuts  and  barley-water  he  meant  to  treat  hisself 
to  out  of  his  share,  as  he  calls  it,  when  he  gets  to  his  home." 

"She  made  mine  plood  poil,"  cried  Wirtz;  "und  he  laughs 
at  me  vhen  I  speaks  of  vhat  ve  eats  in  mine  own  country." 


A    FIGHT.  24 1 

"Serior,"  exclaimed  Antonio,  "have  not  Jorge  and  me  a 
right  to  a  share?" 

"Of  what?" 

"Of  the  money  in  the  cases — of  my  country's  money — that 
you  take  out  of  the  Spanish  ship." 

"Bol  shall  slit  your  nose  if  you  talk  like  that.  You  rascal! 
Is  it  not  enough  that  we  have  saved  your  life?  And  what 
d'ye  mean  by  your  country's  money?     Of   what  country  are 

"I  am  of  Spain,  senor;  born  at  Salamanca." 

"There  is  no  money  in  your  country,"  shouted  Greaves. 
"Ye  are  paupers  all,  cowards  all,  sneaks  and  rogues  to  a  man." 
Yan  Bol  laughed  deep.  "Speak  again  of  the  money  below 
being  the  money  of  your  country,  and  we'll  hang  ye." 

"Sehor,"  said  Antonio,  "am  I  and  Jorge  to  receive  no 
money  for  working  as  sailors  in  this  ship?" 

"Not  so  much  as  will  purchase  you  a  rag  to  wind  round 
your  greasy  ankles." 

A  half-smothered  laugh  broke  from  Wirtz  and  others. 

"We  ask,  then,  that  you  land  us,"  said  the  Spaniard,  whose 
audacity  in  continuing  to  address  Greaves  was  scarcely  less 
astonishing  than  the  captain's  extraordinary  exhibition  of 
temper  and  wilder  display  of  words. 

"Mind  that  you  are  not  landed  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
with  a  twenty-four  pound  shot  to  keep  you  there,"  cried 
Greaves.      "Wirtz,  did  you  knock  that  man  down?" 

"Yaw,  captain,"  responded  Wirtz,  in  a  voice  that  made  one 
guess  at  the  grin  upon  his  face. 

"You  are  a  big  man,  Wirtz,  and  Antonio  is  a  little  man. 
Wirtz,  I  wish  you  may  not  be  a  coward  at  heart.  Know  you 
not,"  cried  Greaves,  elevating  his  voice,  "that  it  is  written, 
'Make  not  an  hungry  soul  sorrowful;  neither  provoke  a  man  in 
his  distress.'  The  soul  of  Antonio  is  hungry  for  dollars  and 
you  have  made  him  sorrowful;  he  is  in  distress,  being  ship- 
wrecked and  having  lost  all  his  clothes,  and  you  have  pro- 
voked him.     Your  grog  is  stopped  for  a  week,  Wirtz." 

"By  Cott,  but  dot  vhas  hardt  upon  a  man,"  said  the  Dutch- 
man. 

"Now  get  forward,  all  hands,"  exclaimed  Greaves,  "but 
mark  you  this;  any  man  who  raises  his  hand  against  another 
on  board  this  brig  goes  into  irons  and  forfeits  his  share  of 
dollars.  This  is  to  be  a  peaceful  and  a  smiling  ship.  We  are 
going   to  get   home    sweetly   and    soberly;    then  comes  your 


242  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

enjoyment — the  pleasures  of  beasts  or  men,  as  you  choose. 
Let  no  man  say  no  to  this." 

He  walked  aft ;  I  thought  he  would  stay  to  have  a  word  with 
me.  Instead  he  immediately  descended  into  the  cabin.  The 
men  moved  forward,  talking  among  themselves,  some  of  them 
laughing. 

Yan  Bol  came  up  to  me  and  said : 

"I  tell  you  vhat,  Mr.  Fielding,  der  Captain  Greaves  vhas  a 
very  fine  shentleman." 

"Very." 

"How  he  talks — mine  Cott,  how  he  talks!  I  would  gif  half 
mine  dollars  to  talk  like  dot  shentleman." 

"He  is  an  educated  man,  and  speaks  well." 

"Yaw,  veil  indeedt.  I  like  der  sheck  of  Antonio  in  oxbect- 
ing  a  share.     But  he  oxbects  no  longer,  ha  ?  " 

I  turned  from  the  Dutchman  and  looked  through  the  sky- 
light, and  saw  Greaves  sitting  at  table,  leaning  his  head  upon 
his  hand.  The  ladv  Aurora  continued  to  write,  but  once  or 
twice  while  I  watched,  she  lifted  her  eyes  to  look  at  the  cap- 
tain. I  was  weary  and  passed  below  to  go  to  my  cabin. 
Greaves  had  left  flie  table  and  was  entering  his  own  berth,  as  I 
descended  the  companion  steps.  The  materials  for  a  glass  of 
grog  were  on  a  swing  tray.  While  I  mixed  myself  a  tumbler 
the  girl  rose  and  handed  me  the  paper  she  had  been  writing 
upon.  The  sheets  had  been  torn  by  Greaves  from  an  old  log 
book,  and  they  were  filled  by  her  with  Spanish  names  with 
their  English  meanings.  I  ran  my  eye  over  the  writing,  which 
was  a  very  neat,  clean  Spanish  liand,  and  nodded  and  smiled, 
and  returned  the  pages  to  her,  saying  Beiino.  Then  emptying 
my  glass  I  gave  her  a  bow,  bade  her  good-night  in  Spanish, 
received  her  answer  of  "Good-night,  sir,"  well  expressed  in 
English,  and  passed  into  my  berth. 


CHAPTER  XXn. 

GREAVES   SICKENS. 

This  time  gives  a  date  to  a  change  that  came  over  Greaves. 
It  was  the  change  of  sickness.  He  grew  feverish,  irritable, 
fanciful;  his  appetite  fell  away;  the  light  in  his  eyes  dimmed; 
sometimes  he  would  put  on  a  staring  look,  as  though  he  beheld 
something  beyond  that  at  which  he  gazed. 

I  had  been  struck  by  his  manner,  and  more  by  his  manner 


CR EAVES  SICKENS.  243 

than  by  his  speech,  when  he  lectured  Wirtz  and  flung  at 
Antonio,  the  Spaniard,  as  you  have  read  in  the  last  chapter. 
Yet  of  itself  this  would  not  have  been  a  matter  to  rest  very 
weightily  upon  my  mind,  seeing  that  all  along  I  had  consid- 
ered Greaves  as  a  little,  just  a  little,  mad  at  the  root.  But 
soon  the  incident  took  significance  as  being  a  first  lifting  of  the 
curtain,  so  to  speak,  upon  a  new  and  somewhat  crazy  behavior 
in  my  friend.  I  hoped  at  first  it  was  the  heat  that  unsettled 
his  nerves  and  that  the  Horn  would  give  me  back  my  old,  odd, 
hearty,  generous  shipmate  and  messmate.  Then  I  feared  that 
the  blow  he  had  dealt  himself  when  he  stumbled  in  the  hold  of 
the  Casada  had  been  silently  and  painlessly  working  bitter  mis- 
chief in  the  organ  of  the  liver,  or  in  parts  adjacent  thereto.  If 
the  liver  was  hurt  the  strangeness  of  the  man  rnight  be 
accounted  for.  I  have  suffered  from  the  liver  in  my  time,  and 
know  what  it  is  to  have  felt  mad ;  I  say  I  have  known  moments 
— O  God,  avert  the  like  of  them  from  me  and  those  I  love — 
when  I  could  scarce  restrain  myself  from  breaking  windows, 
kicking  at  the  shins  of  all  who  approached  me,  knocking  my 
head  against  the  wall,  yelling  with  the  yell  of  one  who  drops  in 
a  fit;  and  all  the  while  my  brain  was  as  healthy  as  the  health- 
iest that  ever  filled  a  human  skull,  and  nothing  was  wanted 
but  a  musketry  of  calomel  pills  to  dislodge  the  fiend  that  was 
jockeying  my  liver  and  galloping  the  whole  fabric  of  my  being 
down  the  easy  descent. 

It  will  not  be  supposed  that  the  change  in  Greaves  was  sud- 
den. It  uttered  itself  at  capricious  intervals,  and  at  the 
beginning  was  more  visible  in  the  mood  than  in  the  man. 

For  example,  it  was,  I  think,  about  four  days  after  the  little 
incident  which  brings  the  last  chapter  to  a  close.  I  had 
charge  of  the  deck  from  eight  to  midnight.  INIiss  Aurora  had 
passed  half  an  hour  with  me,  sometimes  asking  questions  by 
gestures  distinguishable  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  sometimes 
attempting  strange  sentences  in  English,  all  the  words  cor- 
rectly pronounced,  but  so  misplaced  that  with  true  British 
politeness  I  Avas  forever  breaking  into  a  laugh  at  her.  A 
moment  there  had  been  when  she  was  in  earnest.  She  came 
to  a  stand,  her  face  fronting  the  moon  so  that  I  witnessed  the 
working  of  it,  her  eyes  with  a  little  silver  flame  in  each  licpiid 
depth  dark  as  the  sea  over  the  side.  She  spoke  in  Spanish, 
with  here  and  there  a  word  of  English.  It  seemed  to  me  she 
referred  to  the  voyage.  I  fancied  that  t  worked  out  of  her 
words  the  meaning  that  she  desired  to  continue  in  the  brig,  and 


244  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

was  content.  How  did  I  gather  this,  when  I  tell  you  in  the 
next  breath  that  I  could  not  understand  her?  Well,  it  was  my 
fancy  of  her  meaning  that  I  give  you,  but  whether  I  under- 
stood her  or  not  she  motioned  with  an  air  of  tragic  distress, 
clasped  her  hands,  looked  up  at  the  stars,  and  cried  in  Eng- 
lish, "Sad — sad — not  understand — sad."  We  then  resumed 
our  walk,  and  presently  she  left  me. 

Now  it  was  that  Greaves  arrived.  He  smoked  a  long  curled 
pipe  of  Turkish  workmanship  and  moved  noiseless  in  slippers. 
The  moonlight  whitened  his  face  and  silvered  his  hair  and 
blackened  his  eyes  till,  elsewhere,  I  might  have  looked  twice 
without  knowing  him.  We  were  to  the  southward  of  the  Lima 
parallel,  our  course  south  by  west.  The  Bolivian  coast  trends 
inward.  Our  course  gave  us  to  larboard  a  wide  sweep  of  open 
ocean  and  this  we  should  hold  down  to  the  latitude  of  50°. 
After  which  the  chance  was  small  of  our  falling  in  with  any- 
thing armed  under  Spanish  colors. 

We  had  made  noble  progress  taking  the  days  all  round,  and 
this  night  we  were  courtesying  onward  with  a  pretty  breeze  off 
the  larboard  beam — a  wind  that  ran  the  waters  gushing  white 
to  the  bends,  and  overhead  were  all  the  stars  and  the  moon  in^ 
their  midst  dimming  a  circle  of  them,  and  under  the  moon  the 
play  of  the  sea  was  like  a  torrent  of  boiling  silver. 

"This  is  a  desolate  ocean,"  said  Greaves. 

"So  much  the  better  for  us,"  said  I. 

"Oh,  yes,  so  much  the  better  for  us.  But  the  solitude  of 
the  sea  is  a  burden  that  the  heart  don't  always  beat  lightly 
under.  Is  solitude  a  material  thing?  It  has  the  weight  of 
substance  when  it  settles  upon  the  spirits. 

I  let  him  talk  on.  He  was  fond  of  big,  fine  words,  and  the 
stranger  he  became  the  more  heroic  grew  his  vein. 

"Any  more  rows  forward  among  the  men?" 

"I  have  heard  of  none." 

"I  had  two  men  who  fought  through  a  voyage.  They  had 
sailed  together  before  and  fought  throughout.  'They  will  fight 
while  they  meet  on  earth,'  said  the  boatswain  of  the  ship  to 
me,  'and  they  will  fight  if  they  catch  sight  of  each  other  at  the 
Resurrection.'  "  He  puffed  a  cloud  of  smoke  upon  the  wind 
and  looked  round  the  sea.  "I  am  unsettled  in  my  faith,"  said 
he,  "I  am  troubled  by  doubts.  I  believe  I  am  almost  Roman 
Catholic,  but  lack  sufficient  credulity  to  enable  me  to  bring  up 
in  that  faith.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  mean  to  believe  in," 
continued  he,  halting  in  his  walk,  compelling  me  to  stand,  and 


GREAVES  SICKENS.  245 

looking  me  full  in  the  face;   "I  am  going  to  believe  in  the 
transmigration  of  souls." 

"Oh,  you'll  wish  to  choose  your  next  body  before  deciding, 
won't  you?"  said  I.     "You  wouldn't  be  a  flea  or  a  cockroach?" 

"The  flea  and  perhaps  the  cockroach  have  short  lives,"  said 
he  gravely,  "and  the  next  entry  might  be  into  something 
noble.  But  stop  till  I  tell  you  why  I  am  going  to  believe  in 
the  transmigration  of  souls.  I  had  a  dream  a  few  nights  since. 
I  dreamt  that  I  was  a  Jewess.  I  beheld  my  face  in  a  glass  and 
admired  it  vastly.  My  eyes  flashed  and  were  full  of  fire;  my 
lips  were  scarlet.  I  wore  something  white  about  my  head.  I 
knew  that  I  was  a  Jewess.  Shadowy  faces  of  many  races  of 
people  approached,  looked  me  close  in  the  eye,  felt  my  face 
with  their  hands,  accosted  me,  and  I  could  not  speak.  I  was 
suffocated  with  the  want  of  speech.  But  on  a  sudden  I 
obtained  relief.  I  opened  my  mouth  and  spoke,  and  the  words 
I  spoke  were  Hebrew." 

"D'ye  know  Hebrew  ?  "  said  I. 

"A  stupid  question  to  ask  a  sailor." 

"How  do  you  know  you  spoke  in  Hebrew?" 

"Because  it  wasn't  Greek;  because  it  wasn't  Welsh; 
because — because — man,  it  was  just  Hebrew." 

"And  how  does  transmigration  offer  here?"  said  I. 

"I  was  my  own  soul,  informing  the  body  of  a  Jewess.  My 
soul,  of  course,  couldn't  utter  itself,  as  it  was  fresh  from  the 
body  of  an  Englishman,  until  it  had  filled  up,  as  smoke  might, 
every  cranny  and  brain  cell  of  the  shape  it  possessed;  until  it 
had  penetrated  to  the  crypts  and  dark  foundations  of  the 
woman's  heart.  Then,  seeking  vent,  my  soul  broke  through 
the  lips  of  the  Jewess.  In  what  tongue,  d'ye  ask?  In  what 
but  the  tongue  of  her  nation  ?  " 

"This,"  thought  I,  "is  the  lady  Aurora's  doing.  She  it  is 
who's  the  Jewess  of  my  poor  friend's  dream.  The  fiery  eyes, 
if  not  the  scarlet  lips,  are  hers,  and  hers  the  arrest  and  suffo- 
cation of  speech." 

But  I  guessed  it  would  anger  him  to  put  this;  yet  it  grieved 
me  to  hear  this  nonsense  in  his  mouth,  and  the  more  because 
his  looks  by  the  moon,  that  shone  upon  us  while  he  dis- 
coursed, gave  a  gloomy  accentuation  of — what  shall  I  call  it? 
not  yet  madness;  not  yet  craziness;  let  me  rather  speak  of  it 
as  wildness — to  his  words. 

He  walked  with  me  for  above  an  hour,  talking  on  this 
absurdity    of   transmigration,    and    reasoning   illogically,    and 


246  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

often  with  irreverence,  on  points  relating  to  the  salvation  of 
man.  It  is  a  bad  sign  when  religion  gets  into  a  man's  head 
and  acidly  turns  into  windiness  and  nightmare  imaginations, 
as  a  sweet  milk  hardens  into  curdy  flatulence  in  the  belly  of 
the  suckling. 

I  sought  to  shift  the  helm  of  his  mind  by  talking  about  the 
dollars  below;  by  speaking  about  the  crew  and  my  secret  dis- 
trust of  Yan  Bol;  by  caUing  his  attention  to  the  look  of  his 
brig  as  she  floated,  with  aslant  spars,  through  the  moonlight, 
flowing  lengths  of  the  sails  curving  in  alabaster  beyond  the 
shadow  in  their  hollows,  the  water,  black  as  ink  under  her 
bowsprit,  pouring  aft  in  fire  and  snow.  But  all  to  no  purpose. 
He  looked  and  seemed  not  to  see ;  he  repeated,  in  a  mouthing, 
absent  way,  my  sentences  about  Bol  and  other  matters,  and 
immediately  struck  back  again  into  his  talk  about  heaven,  his 
soul,  the  Jewess  he  had  dreamt  of,  and  the  like. 

But,  even  without  seeing  him,  even  without  hearing  him,  I 
should  have  known  that  there  was  something  wrong  with  the 
man  by  the  behavior  of  his  dog.  I  do  not  say  that  all  dogs 
have  souls;  but  I  am  as  sure  that  Galloon  had  a  soul  of  his 
own,  after  its  kind,  as  that  iiiy  eyes  are  mates.  As  a  change 
slowly  came  over  Greaves,  so  slowly  changed  Galloon.  I 
would  notice  the  dog  watching  his  master's  face  at  table,  and 
found  a  score  of  human  emotions  in  the  creature's  expression. 
I'd  see  him  lying  at  Greaves'  door  if  the  captain  was  within, 
when  formerly  he  would  be  on  deck  cruising  about  among  the 
men  or  skylarking  aft  with  me.  If  I  called  him,  he'd  come 
slowly.  There  was  no  more  capering  up  to  me,  no  more 
buoyant  greetings,  no  leapings  and  lickings  and  short,  eager 
yelps  of  salutation  in  response  to  the  many  things  I'd  say  to 
him.  We  make  much  of  human  love,  I  would  think  while 
caressing  the  dog  or  looking  at  him,  and  the  love  of  man  we 
call  a  passion ;  but  the  love  of  the  dog  we  call  an  instinct. 
Yet  is  not  the  instinct  nobler  than  the  passion?  Purity  it  has 
that  is  faultless.  Is  human  passion  pure  to  faultlessness? 
There  is  selfishness  in  human  passion,  but  the  love  of  yonder 
dog  for  its  master  is  without  selfishness.  Many  qualities  enter 
into  the  passion  of  love;  but  the  love  of  yonder  dog  is  a 
primary  quality  in  him.  It  is  as  gold  among  metals.  Suppos- 
ing analysis  possible,  then  analyze  the  brute's  affection,  and 
you  find  not  a  hair's  weight,  not  a  dust-grain's  bulk,  of  vitiat- 
ing element. 

The  lady  Aurora  was  quick  to  notice  the  change  in  Greaves. 


GREAVES  SICKENS.  247 

Her  lids  moved  swiftly  upon  her  eyes,  and  their  lashes  were  a 
veil,  and  she  had  an  art  of  glancing  without  seeming  to  glance. 
She  did  not  like  him,  and  would  not  appear  to  see  him  more 
often  than  courtesy  obliged.  Her  rapid  glances,  therefore,  on 
occasions  when  she  would  have  found  other  occupation  for  her 
eyes,  told  me  that  she  was  struck  by  the  man's  looks,  that  she 
wondered  at  them  and  guessed  their  significance.  I  was  no 
doctor.  For  all  I  could  tell  she  might  have  some  knowledge 
under  that  head.  I  fancied  this  from  her  manner  of  looking 
at  Greaves. 

So  one  day,  when  she  and  I  were  alone  in  the  cabin,  Bol  on 
the  lookout  above,  and  the  captain  in  his  berth,  I  endeavored 
to  converse  with  her  about  my  friend;  but  to  no  purpose. 
Intelligibility  vanished  in  signs,  shakes  of  the  head,  dumb 
pointings  to  the  brow  and  ribs.  She  had,  indeed,  picked  up  a 
little  English.  She  was  able  to  pronounce  the  names  of  vari- 
ous articles  of  food,  also  had  several  English  nautical  terms  at 
her  tongue's  end;  but  when  it  came  to  trying  to  talk  about 
Greaves'  state  of  health,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  crook 
our  brows,  hunch  our  backs,  and  work  meaning  into  nonsense 
with  postures. 

Yet  I  managed  to  discover  that  the  lady  and  I  were  agreed 
in  this;  that  Greaves  had  received  some  internal  injury  from 
his  fall,  that  it  Avas  slowly  sickening  him,  and  affecting  his 
mind. 

Nevertheless,  he  went  about  as  usual,  punctually  took 
sights,  attended  at  meals,  was  up  and  down  during  the  day  and 
night.  He  was  very  rational  in  all  the  orders  he  gave  to  the 
men,  in  all  direct  instructions  to  me  respecting  shipboard  dis- 
cipline and  routine.  It  was  by  fits  and  starts  that  his  growing 
wildness  showed,  and  always  when  he  had  me  alone;  and  then 
the  matter  of  his  discourse  was  dreams  and  religion  and  death. 
Not  that  he  talked  as  though  he  supposed  his  end  was 
approaching;  upon  his  words  lay  no  shadow  of  the  melancholy 
that  is  cast  by  the  dread  event  when  the  heart  knows,  dimly 
and  mysteriously,  that  it  is  coming.  He  chattered  as  if  for 
argument's  sake;  postulated  to  disprove  his  own  assertions, 
but  he  was  seldom  logical,  often  devout,  filled  to  the  very 
twang  of  his  nose  with  fervor,  and  at  other  times,  and  on  a 
sudden,  as  impious  as  young  John  Bunyan. 

What  think  you  of  this  character  of  a  seaman,  of  a  plain 
north-country  merchant  seaman;  you  whose  ideas  of  the 
nautical    man    are   gotten   from   Smollett's   studies,  from  the 


248  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

delightful  portraits  of  dear  Captain  Marryatt?  But,  Jack, 
bless  ye!  you^  who  have  been  to  %^3., you  who  have  sailed  ten 
times  round  the  world,  who  have  swung  your  hammock  in  a 
score  of  forecastles,  and  who  have  outweathered  Satan  himself 
in  a  dozen  different  aspects  of  ship's  captains,  _>w^,  mate,  will 
approve  this  sketch,  will  recognize  its  truth,  will  tell  the  land- 
lubbers that  at  sea  are  many  varieties  of  men — m.en  who  swear 
not,  who  are  gentle,  faithful  in  their  duty  below;  men  who 
are  a  little  crazy,  who  drink  deeply  and  are  devils  in  their 
thoughts  and  madmen  in  their  behavior,  but  trucklers  and 
slaverers  to  those  who  hire  them;  men  who  are  hearty, 
pimpled,  broad  of  beam,  verdant  with  the  grog  blossom  and 
green  in  naught  else,  moist  in  the  weather  eye,  and  bow-legged 
by  great  seas. 

One  Sunday  morning,  when  we  had  left  the  island  a  little 
more  or  less  than  three  weeks  behind  us.  Greaves  said  to  me 
at  the  breakfast  table: 

"I  shall  hold  divine  service  this  morning  on  deck." 

I  stared,  but  said  nothing. 

"I'll  read  a  portion  "of  the  Church  of  England  liturgy  to  the 
men,"  said  he,  "and  a  chapter  out  of  the  Bible.  What  chap- 
ter do  you  recommend?" 

I  was  at  a  loss. 

"Give  them  something  interesting,"  said  I,  "something  that 
will  carry  them  along  with  you." 

"Right,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  little  light  of  vivacity  in  his 
somewhat  sunken  and  somewhat  leaden  eye,  "what  d'ye  say  to 
a  fight  out  of  Joshua?" 

"I  do  not  think,"  I  answered,  "that  a  good  fight  out  of 
Joshua  could  be  bettered." 

"I'll  give  'em  that  chapter,"  said  he,  "in  which  the  son  of 
Nun  corks  the  five  kings  up  in  a  cave  and  then  hangs  them. 
Not  that  there's  any  moral  that  I  can  see  in  that  sort  of  narra- 
tive. It  is  an  Ebrew  Gazette  extraordinary — a  pitiful,  bloody 
business  from  beginning  to  end.  But  if  the  reading  of  a  chap- 
ter of  it  causes  even  one  of  the  sailors  to  take  an  interest  in 
the  Bible  I  shall  have  done  some  good." 

"So  you  will." 

"Do  you  know  the  men's  persuasions?" 

"Not  I,  captain." 

"The  Spaniards  are  Roman  Catholics,  of  course.  The 
Dutchmen  and  the  others  will  be  of  us  if  they're  of  anything. 
When  you  go  on  deck  tell  Bol  to  see  that  the  crew  clean  them- 


GREAVES  SICKENS.  249 

selves,  and  let  him  muster  and  bring  them  aft  for  divine  serv- 
ice at  half-past  ten." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir."  ,.  , 

Miss  Aurora  sat  over  against  me  at  this  meal  as  at  most 
others;  she  stared  at  me  as  though  something  was  wrong.  I 
did  not  wonder;  I  had  been  unable  to  conceal  my  astonish- 
ment at  Greaves'  orders  for  divine  service.  Down  to  this 
moment  he  had  never  read  a  prayer  to  the  men,  never  exhib- 
ited the  least  disposition  to  do  so,  never  imported  the  faintest 
shadow  of  anything  religious  into  the  dull  and  sAvinish  routine 
of  the  brig.  It  was  somewhat  late  in  the  day  to  lay  up  on  that 
tack,  methought.  But  it  was  for  me  to  obey,  and  I  went  on 
deck,  leaving  Greaves  sitting.  Miss  Aurora  followed,  and 
touched  my  elbow  as  I  passed  through  the  companion  hatch. 

"What  is  it?"  said  she,  in  English. 

"Nothing,  nothing,"  I  answered,  smiling  and  shaking  my 
head,  for  it  would  have  given  me  a  deal  too  much  to  act,  with 
Yan  Bol  and  the  fellow  at  the  wheel  as  spectators,  to  gesticu- 
late Greaves'  intention  to  collect  all  hands  to  prayers. 

"No  danger?"  said  she,  speaking  again  in  English. 

"No,  no,"  I  responded  heartily. 

She  touched  her  forehead,  clasped  her  hands,  and  turned  up 
her  eyes  to  heaven  with  one  of  her  incomparable  expressions 
of  tragic  melancholy,  sighed  heavily,  and  returned  to  the 
cabin. 

"Bol,"  said  I,  stepping  up  to  the  great  Dutchman  where  he 
stood  near  the  wheel,  "you  will  see  that  the  men  clean  them- 
selves and  muster  aft  by  half -past  ten  for  divine  service." 

"What's  dot?"  said  he. 

"Prayers." 

He  looked  at  Teach,  who  was  at  the  helm,  and  a  smile 
crawled  over  his  face,  as  wind  creeps  over  a  surface  of  sea. 
His  smile  wrinkled  his  massive  visage  to  the  line  of  his  hair. 

"Brayers,  Mr.  Fielding!  Dot  vhas  strange  after  all  dese 
months.  For  vhat  vhas  ve  to  pray  now  dot  der  dollars  vhas 
on  boardt?" 

"Reason  the  matter  with  the  captain,  if  you  choose.  You 
have  your  instructions." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir.     Mr.  Fielding,  may  I  hov  a  verdt  mit  you?" 

He  spoke  respectfully,  and  moved  from  the  wheel.  He  was 
a  man  I  had  been  careful  to  give  a  wide  berth  to  throughout  the 
voyage;  but  also  was  he  a  man  whom,  for  my  own  peace  sake, 
I  had  been  at  some  pains  not  to  give  offense  to.     The  famil- 


250  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

iarity  of  the  fellow  was  Dutch.  I  never  could  make  sure  tlaat 
it  was  more  than  a  characteristic  of  his  countrymen  with  him, 
and  that  he  meant  insolence  when  he  spoke  insolently,  I  bore 
in  mind,  moreover,  that  secretly  he,  and  no  doubt  the  rest  of 
the  crew,  viewed  me  as  an  interloper — as  one  who  would, 
probably,  share  far  more  handsomely  than  they  in  the  treasure 
without  having  entered  at  Amsterdam  or  having  formed  a  part 
of  the  original  scheme  of  the  expedition.  This  consideration, 
then,  made  me  wary  in  my  relations  with  Yan  Bol. 

He  moved  from  the  wheel  out  of  earshot  of  the  fellow  there, 
and  said,  in  a  rumbling  voice  of  subdued  thunder: 

'■  I  oxbects  dot  der  captain  vhas  not  fery  veil,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"He  is  not  very  well." 

"She  vhas  a  bad  shob  if  he  vhas  to  took  und  die." 

"Yaw;  but  what  is  it  you  wish  to  say  to  me?" 

"I  hov  nothing  to  say,  Mr.  Fielding,  except  vhat  I  hov 
said.  Der  men  likes  to  know  how  her  captain  vhas.  Vhen  I 
goes  forwardt  und  tells  dem  dot  dey  most  lay  aft  und  bray, 
dey  vhas  for  vanting  to  know  if  der  captain  vhas  all  right  mil 
his  headt  Oxcuse  me,  Mr.  Fielding,  but  vhas  it  all  right  mit 
der  captain's  headt?" 

"We  are  talking  of  the  captain,"  said  I. 

"Ay,  ay,  sir;  and  I  shpeaks  mit  all  respect.  You  vhas  first 
mate;  I  oct  second.  It  vhas  right  ve  shpeaks  together,  vhen 
der  capt'n's  health  vhas  in  trouble." 

"You  are  able  to  judge  of  his  state  as  well  as  I,  Bol." 

"No;  you  live  close  mit  him.  My  end  of  der  ship  vhas 
yonder." 

His  voice  seemed  to  deepen  yet  as  he  spoke  these  words, 
while  he  pointed  with  his  vast  square  hand  to  the  forecastle. 
I  held  my  peace,  sending  a  look  to  windward  and  at  the  wheel, 
as  a  hint  to  him  to  go.  He  stood  a  while  viewing  me  and 
appearing  to  consider,  all  with  a  heavy  Dutch  leisureliness  of 
manner  and  expression,  as  though  his  thoughts  rose  slow,  like 
whales,  to  the  surface  of  his  intelligence,  spouted,  and  sunk 
before  he  could  harpoon  them;  then,  saying,  "Veil,  brayers  at 
half-past  ten.  Dot  vlias  a  strange  idea  now  der  money  vhas 
on  boardt,"  he  walked  forward. 

This  being  Sunday  morning,  the  men  had  nothing  to  do, 
and  lounged  about  the  galley,  smoking  and  conversing.  I 
watched  Bol  approach  them.  He  stood  abreast  of  a  knot  and 
delivered  his  orders,  lliat  I  gathered  from  the  stares,  the 
starts,  the  hoarse  laugh,  the   rude  forecastle  joke   sent   in  a 


GREAVES   SICKENS.  251 

growling  shout  across  to  a  mate  at  a  distance.  A  little  later, 
however,  the  fellows  came  together  in  a  body,  somewhat  for- 
ward of  the  caboose,  some  of  them  out  of  my  sight  until  my 
steps  carried  me  to  the  gangway.  Yan  Bol  stood  among  them. 
It- was  clear  to  me  that  they  were  talking  over  this  new  scheme 
of  a  prayer  meeting  aft.  I  kept  well  away,  and  heard  nothing 
but  the  rumbling  of  their  voices;  but  it  was  easy  to  guess  that 
the  most  of  their  talk  ran  on  the  captain's  health  and  intellect, 
and  I  reckoned  that,  if  they  had  already  noticed  any  strange- 
ness in  him,  this  call  to  prayers  would  go  further  to  prove  him 
mad  in  their  eyes  than  the  insanest  shipboard  order  he  could 
have  delivered. 

Some  while,  however,  before  there  was  need  for  Bol  to  send 
the  men  to  clean  themselves,  Jimmy  came  out  of  the  cabin  and 
said  that  the  captain  wished  to  speak  to  me.  The  morning  v.'as 
fine,  the  breeze  steady,  and  the  sea  smooth.  The  deck  was  to 
be  safely  left  for  a  short  interval.  I  called  an  order  to  the 
helmsman  and  went  below. 

Greaves  was  pacing  the  cabin  floor.  The  lady  Aurora  was 
in  her  berth,  perhaps  at  her  devotions.  Galloon  was  upon  a 
chair,  wistfully  watching  his  master  as  he  measured  the  cabin. 

Greaves'  face  worked  with  excitement  and  agitation;  his 
walk  w^as  equally  suggestive  of  distress  and  disorder.  Were 
there  such  a  thing  as  news  at  sea^  I  might  have  supposed  that 
something  heart-shaking  had  come  to  him. 

"Fielding,"  he  cried,  as  I  stood  viewing  him  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  companion  ladder,  "'I  can't  read  prayers  to  the 
men.  The  devil's  right.  He's  put  it  into  my  head  that  I'm 
too  wicked,  that  I've  been  too  great  a  sinner  in  the  past,  and 
am  still  altogether  too  vile  to  read  prayers." 

"Do  not  attempt  to  do  so  then,"  said  I. 

"I  might  be  struck  dead  for  profanity,"  said  he.  "There's 
a  feeling  here" — he  laid  his  hand  upon  his  heart — "that  warns 
me  I  shall  drop  if  I  open  my  lips  in  the  recital  of  a  prayer  to 
the  men.  Look  how  nervous  I  am!"  he  exclaimed,  with  a 
wild,  hard  smile;  and  approaching  me  close  he  extended  his 
hands,  which  trembled  violently,  and  then,  turning  up  the 
palms,  he  disclosed  the  channels  or  lines  in  them  wet  with 
perspiration.  "Tell  the  men,"  said  he^  "that  I  am  too  ill  to 
read  prayers.      Next  Sunday,  perhaps " 

He  threw  himself  upon  a  locker,  and  hid  his  face  upon  the 
table.  I  watched  him  for  a  few  minutes,  then,  going  on  deck, 
beckoned  to  Bol  and  told  him  there  would  be  no  prayers  that 


252  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

morning.  The  Dutchman  threw  a  suspicious  look  at  the  sky- 
light and  walked  forward. 

After  this  incident  anxiety  increased  upon  me  until  it 
became  indescribably  great.  I  had  supposed  that  the  hurt 
Greaves  had  done  himself,  through  the  connection  which  exists 
between  the  liver  and  the  brain,  affected  his  mind;  but  now, 
when  he  was  growing  worse,  I  reckoned  he  had  struck  his  head 
as  well  as  his  side.  Be  this  as  it  will,  his  intellect  was  giving 
way,  his  health  every  day  decaying,  and  I  say  that  when  I  grew 
sensible  of  this,  when  I  understood  that  unless  he  took  a  turn 
and  mended  apace  he  must  die,  anxiety  made  my  days  bitter. 

My  old  fear  of  the  crew  revived.  That  fear  had  been 
hushed  somewhat  by  the  behavior  of  the  men,  but  it  grew 
clamorous  when  I  thought  of  Greaves  as  dead  and  buried  in 
the  sea,  of  the  treasure  of  half  a  million  of  dollars  in  the  laza- 
rette,  of  myself  as  standing  alone  in  the  brig,  with  no  man  in 
authority  to  support  me,  without  even  the  moral  backing  of 
good-will  I  might  have  got  from  the  men  had  I  shipped  at 
Amsterdam  and  formed  one  of  the  Tulp  party. 

The  dead  days  became  dreams  and  visions  to  my  memory 
when  I  thought  backward  and  recalled  the  Royal  Bruns7vicker, 
Captain  Spalding,  my  arrival  in  the  Downs,  the  gibbet  on  the 
sand  hills,  the  press-gang,  the  long  outward  passage  to  the 
island,  and  the  hopes  and  fears  which  came  and  went  when 
Greaves  talked  rationally  of  the  dollars,  then  irrationally  of 
dreams  and  the  like,  and  so  on,  and  so  on.  I  did  pray  very 
eagerly  in  my  heart  that  he  would  be  spared.  Indeed,  I  loved 
the  man.  He  had  saved  my  life,  he  had  enriched  me,  he  had 
proved  a  generous,  cordial,  and  cheery  shipmate  and  mess- 
mate. I  say  I  loved  him,  and  on  several  occasions,  when  I 
was  on  deck  alone,  walking  out  the  weary  hours  of  the  night 
watch,  did  I  look  up  at  the  stars  and  ask  of  God  to  deliver  my 
friend  from  the  death  whose  hand  was  closing  upon  him. 
These  petitions  would  I  murmur  till  my  eyes  were  wet.  It 
was  hard  that  he  should  be  called  away  in  the  prime  of  his 
time,  after  years  of  the  stern  and  barren  servitude  of  the  sea,  at 
the  moment  when  a  noble  prize,  gained,  as  I  would  think, 
with  high  adventurous  skill,  was  his. 

But  I  never  could  discover,  at  this  time  at  all  events,  that 
he  had  the  smallest  idea  he  was  in  a  bad  way.  What  was 
visible  to  me  and  the  sailors,  to  the  Spanish  lady,  yes,  and  to 
his  own  dog,  himself  did  not  see — at  least,  by  never  a  word 
that  fell  from  his  lips  did  he  give  me  to  guess  he  knew  he  was 


GREAVES  SICKENS.  253 

ill.  Sometimes  he'd  complain  of  weakness  and  keep  his  bed; 
he'd  wonder  what  had  become  of  his  appetite,  that  was  all;  he 
never  went  further.  It  was  I,  mainly,  who  took  sights  and 
kept  the  ship's  reckoning,  who,  in  fact,  navigated  the  brig, 
and  did  the  work  of  her  master.  Miss  Aurora's  sympathies 
with  him  were  strong  at  the  start — that  is,  when  she  saw  how 
ill  he  was  and  how  his  illness  was  increasing  upon  him.  She'd 
make  efforts  to  anticipate  his  wants  at  table  ;  with  her  own 
hands  she'd  boil  chocolate  for  him  in  the  caboose  and  bring  it 
to  the  cabin;  she  let  me  understand  she  wished  to  nurse  him. 
But  whether  it  was  because  of  simple  dislike,  or  because  his 
poor  head,  muddling  the  fine  woman  whom  he  had  rescued 
with  the  speechless  Jewess  of  his  dream,  excited  in  him  some 
inscrutable  fear  or  aversion  I  know  not;  he  would  have  noth- 
ing to  say  to  her,  looked  away  when  she  spoke,  repelled  what- 
ever she  offered,  often  shrank  when  she  approached — was  so 
crazily  discourteous,  in  a  word,  that  I  was  obliged  to  take  the 
girl  aside  and,  by  signs  and  such  words  as  were  now  current 
between  us,  advise  her  to  keep  clear  of  him. 

As  to  her,  she  spent  much  of  her  time  in  sewing  and  in 
attempting  to  master  the  English  tongue  out  of  some  books 
which  I  borrowed  from  Greaves's  cabin,  and  with  such  help 
as  I  had  time  to  give  her.  We  had  plenty  of  needles  and 
thread  on  board.  Greaves,  before  his  illness  grew,  had  given 
Miss  Aurora  a  handsome  roll  of  pure  white  duck,  or  drill — I 
forget  now  which  it  was — to  do  what  she  pleased  with.  I  had 
found  some  remnants  of  bunting,  of  different  colors,  that  she 
might  amuse  herself,  if  she  chose,  with  Greaves's  notion  of 
trimming  her  dresses;  then  I  had  borrowed  a  thimble  from  the 
forecastle.  You  will  suppose  that  it  was  not  a  iig/it  fit;  but 
she  managed  with  it.  And  so  she  went  to  work,  sewing  in  the 
cabin  or  in  her  own  berth;  and  I  see  her  now,  with  my  mind's 
eye,  as  she  sits  under  the  skylight,  stitching  away  like  any 
seamstress  earning  a  living,  the  jewels  upon  her  fingers  flash- 
ing as  her  hand  rises  and  falls. 

One  morning  she  came  out  of  her  berth  dressed  in  a  gown  of 
her  own  manufacture.  It  Avas  built  on  original  linies,  and  it 
suited  her.  I  believe  she  had  shaped  it  to  enable  her  to  get 
about  with  ease,  to  allow  her  to  step  without  inconvenience  up 
the  companion  ladder  and  through  the  hatch,  to  pass  through 
the  cabin  betwixt  the  table  and  the  lockers  without  being 
dragged,  and  sometimes  held,  by  the  folds  of  her  skirt,  and  to 
freely  move  in  her  little  bedroom.     The  dress  she  had  been 


254  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

cast  away  in  had  hardly  permitted  this  liberty.  It  was 
voluminous  enough  to  have  yielded  her  three  clinging  skirts; 
it  caught  the  wind  when  she  was  on  deck,  and  blew  out  like  a 
topsail  in  a  squall  when  the  yard  is  on  the  cap.  I  admired 
her  vastly  in  this  costume  of  her  own  making.  The  cut 
answered  something  to  my  own  taste  in  female  apparel;  the 
waist  rose  high,  the  sleeves  were  tight,  the  dip  and  swell  of  her 
shape  were  defined.  I  had  always  suspected  that  a  nobly 
proportioned  woman  lay  awkwardly  hid  in  the  dress  that  had 
heretofore  clothed  her,  and  I  gu'^-sed  I  had  been  right  when  I 
looked  at  her  this  morning  and  marked  the  curve  of  the  breast, 
the  width  of  the  shoulders,  the  fine,  swinging,  lofty  carriage. 

The  dress  was  snow  white ;  it  fell  in  with  the  color  of  her 
face.  Her  cheeks  seemed  the  whiter  for  the  whiteness  of  her 
clothes.  She  had  trimmed  her  dress  with  triple  lines  of  red 
bunting,  and,  for  my  part,  I  should  never  want  to  see  a  pret- 
tier or  more  effective  gown  on  a  maiden  for  sea  use. 

She  stood  in  the  door  of  her  berth,  looking  archly  at  me. 
Galloon  growled,  scarce  knowing  her  for  the  moment. 
Greaves  was  in  his  bertli,  for  by  this  time  he  was  ailing  badly. 
She  looked  down  her  dress,  colored  slightly,  then  walked  up 
to  me  and  said: 

"How  you  like  it?  How  you  like  it?"  turning  herself 
about  a  little  coquettishly. 

Admiration  will  often  make  a  man  laugh;  and  I  laughed  to 
see  her  in  that  dress  and  laughed  to  hear  her  address  me  in 
English;  and  laughed  yet  again,  but  always  admiringly,  at  her 
spirited,  courting  manner  of  turning  her  figure  about,  that  I 
might  get  a  view  of  her  clothes. 

"It  is  very  good,  indeed,"  said  I. 

"vSV,  it  is  very  good,"  she  repeated  after  me. 

She  then  sought  to  express  herself  further,  and,  failing, 
signed  to  let  me  know  that  she  had  now  two  dresses,  and  that 
presently  she  would  ha/e  three.  I  pronounced  some  word  of 
applause  in  Spanish,  which  she  obliged  me  to  repeat,  that  I 
might  catch  the  correct  pronunciation,  and  we  then  sat  down 
to  breakfast. 

I  have  told  you  that  she  wore  some  very  handsome  rings, 
and  on  this  occasion  it  was  that  I  took  particular  notice  of  a 
remarkable  ring  which  she  carried  on  her  left  hand.  She  fol- 
lowed my  gaze,  and  stretched  out  her  hand  to  my  face.  I 
imagined  she  intended  that  I  should  kiss  her  hand,  for  I  was  a 
fool  in  the  customs  of  nations,  and  honestly  knew  not  but  that 


THE    WHALER.  255 

a  man's  kissing  a  woman's  hand  thus  held  out  to  him,  almost 
to  his  lips,  as  it  were,  was  some  Spanish  fashion  of  significant 
civility  which  she  would  expect  me  to  attend  to;  so  I  bent  my 
head  and  put  my  mouth  to  her  hand. 

She  colored,  her  eyes  flashed,  she  looked  confused;  then 
smiled,  shook  her  head,  and  pointed  to  the  ring.  I  was  young 
and  ingenuous,  and  the  blood  rose  to  my  face  when  I  under- 
stood that  I  had  blundered;  but  I  held  my  peace,  and  looked 
at  the  ring.  A  moment  later  she  pulled  it  off  and  put  it  into 
my  hand.  It  was  a  very  rich  ring,  formed  of  ten  precious 
stones  of  different  sorts  and  a  medallion  of  the  crucifix.  I 
turned  it  about,  admiring  it.  She  watched  me  earnestly,  and 
then,  with  a  smile  and  a  sigh,  said: 

"You  are  not  Catolique." 

"No,"  said  I. 

She  motioned  to  let  me  know  she  could  tell  as  much  by  my 
ignorance  of  the  use  of  that  ring;  and  then,  taking  the  thing 
from  me,  she  went  through  a  pretty  and  dramatic  pantomime, 
reciting  "Aves"  while  she  touched  the  ring,  and  winding  up 
with  a  sentence  out  of  the  "Paternoster."  She  put  on  the 
ring  after  she  had  made  an  end  of  her  pretty  pantomime,  and, 
looking  again  at  me  earnestly,  repeated,  with  the  same  dra- 
matic sigh : 

"You  are  not  Catolique." 

"No,"  said  I. 

"You  will  be  Catolique?"  she  exclaimed,  in  very  fairly  pro- 
nounced English,  still  wearing  a  wistful  and  impassioned 
expression. 

I  slowly  shook  my  head.  She  sighed  again  and  looked  very 
downcast;  but  I  was  wanted  on  deck  and  could  sit  at  table  no 
longer,  and  so  I  left  her. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    WHALER. 

All  this  while  the  crew  went  on  quietly  with  the  work  of 
the  ship,  giving  me  no  trouble  nor  occasioning  me  further 
anxiety  than  such  as  arose  from  my  fear  of  how  it  might  prove 
with  us  should  the  captain  die.  This  will  I  say  of  Bol:  a  bet- 
ter boatswain  never  trod  the  decks  of  a  vessel.  I  carried  by 
nature  a  critical  eye,  and  while  Greaves  lay  ill  my  vigilance 
was  redoubled;  but  not  once  had  I  cause  to  find  fault  with 
Yan  Bol's  part  in  the  duties  of  the  brig. 


256  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

We  wanted,  indeed,  the  freshening  of  the  paint  pot,  but  in 
all  other  respects  we  were  as  smart  a  little  ship,  as  we  blew 
toward  the  Horn,  as  though  w^e  had  quitted  the  Thames  but  a 
week  before.  Our  brass  guns  sparkled,  our  decks  were  yacht- 
like with  holy-stoning,  our  rigging  might  have  been  newly  set 
up  by  riggers  of  the  king.  Every  detail  of  the  furniture  aloft 
was  carefully  seen  to,  from  the  eyes  of  the  royal  rigging  to  the 
lanyards  of  the  channel  dead-eyes. 

The  men  feared  Bol;  his  vast  bulk  of  beef  and  the  granite 
lumps  which  swelled  in  muscle  to  the  movement  of  his  arms 
made  him  the  match  for  any  two  of  them.  The  delivery 
of  his  lungs  was  the  cannon's  roar.  I  have  seen  a  stout  fellow 
stagger  as  though  to  a  blow — sway  in  the  recoil  of  a  man  who 
is  hit  hard,  on  Yan  Bol  thrustmg  his  huge  mouth  into  the 
fellow's  face  and  exploding  in  passion  an  order  betwixt  his 
eyes.  But  though  the  crew  feared  him  they  also  liked  him; 
he  acted  as  second  mate,  indeed,  but  throughout  with  reluc- 
tance; was  their  shipmate  and  forecastle  associate  first  of  all, 
the  man  who  ate  out  of  their  kids  and  drank  out  of  their 
scuttle  butt,  who  slung  his  hammock  in  their  bedroom, 
showed  them  what  to  do  and  often  how  to  do  it,  occasionally 
went  aloft  with  them,  yarned  and  smoked  with  them.  So  much 
for  Yan  Bol. 

Greaves  had  a  just  and  considerable  admiration  for  him,  the 
fullest  confidence  in  him  as  a  sailor,  and  counted  him  the  best 
boatswain  he  had  ever  heard  of;  and  I  agreed  wath  him. 
Going,  however,  rather  farther,  for  I  had  distrusted  the  man 
from  the  beginning,  and  my  distrust  of  him  w-as  now  deeper 
than  ever  it  had  been,  and  I  Avould  have  given  half  my  share 
of  the  money  in  the  lazarette  had  we  been  blown  away  from  the 
island  when  he  was  ashore  and  forced  to  proceed  without  him. 

The  two  Spaniards  were  bad  sailors,  lazy  and  reckless.  Bol 
could  do  nothing  with  them.  They  skulked  when  there  w-as 
business  to  be  done  aloft,  were  not  to  be  trusted  at  the  wheel, 
and  it  came  at  last  to  our  putting  them  to  help  the  cook  and 
do  the  dirty  work  of  the  ship  when  they  were  not  at  sail- 
making — for,  to  be  sure,  they  were  smart  hands  with  their 
palms  and  needles.  There  were  no  more  fights,  no  more 
assertions  by  Antonio  and  his  mate  Jorge  of  their  claims  to  a 
share.  In  talking  to  me  one  day  about  them  Bol  said  it  w.as 
the  wish  of  the  crew  to  turn  them  out  of  the  brig  at  the  first 
chance. 

"The  captain  won't  hear  of  it,"  said  I. 


THE    WHALER.       ,  257 

The  Dutchman  asked  why. 

"Because,"  said  I,  "the  Spaniards  know  that  there  is  treas- 
ure on  board.  They  also  know  it  is  Spanish  treasure  and  how 
got  by  us.  Suppose  you  tranship  them;  they  arrive  at  a  port 
and  state  what  they  know.  The  news  that  we  have  salved  the 
treasure  reaches  the  ears  of  the  owner  of  it,  who  thereupon 
makes  application  for  restitution.  Our  business  is  to  keep 
clear  of  difficulties." 

'"Yaw,  dot  do  I  see.  But  hark  you,  Mr.  Fielding,  ve  keep 
der  Spaniards  -und  ve  arrive  home,  und  der  Spaniards  go 
ashore,  und  den?  I  ox,  und  den?  Vill  dey  not  shpeak  all 
der  same  as  dey  vould  shpoke  in  von  of  der  own  ports  down 
here?" 

"I    have  considered    that;   so,    too,    has    Captain   Greaves 
There  is  a  remedy,  but  it  does  not  lie  in  transferring  them  in 
these  seas." 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  the  subject  dropped. 

But  the  long  and  short  of  Greaves's  policy  in  this  particular 
matter  was;  get  the  money  home  in  safety  first,  bring  off  the 
treasure  clear  of  the  fifty  sea  risks  and  perils  of  the  age — the 
gale,  the  shoal,  the  leak,  the  pirate,  the  enemy's  ships  of  the 
State.  It  will  be  time  enough  to  trouble  yourself  with  what 
the  Spaniards  and  others  of  the  crew  may  whisper  ashore  when 
the  money  has  been  landed,  divided,  exchanged  into  gold  of 
the  realm,  with  plenty  of  leisure  for  a  disappearance  that 
might  run  into  time  should  the  news  of  the  salving  of  the  treas- 
ure of  the  Casada  ever  reach  the  ears  of  the  owners  of  the 
silver. 

We  carried  good  strong  winds  to  the  southward.  The  days 
grew  shorter,  there  was  an  edge  in  the  weather  let  the  breeze 
blow  whence  it  would;  the  swell  of  the  sea  was  long  and  dark. 
We  bent  strong  canvas  for  rounding  the  Horn,  and  in  other 
ways  prepared  for  a  conflict  which  in  those  days  had  a  sig- 
nificance that  has  departed  from  that  wrestle.  The  seamen 
put  on  warm  clothes;  there  was  never  a  need  now  for  the  small 
awning  aft;  the  sun  shone  white,  as  though  the  dazzle  of  his 
disk  was  the  reflection  of  his  beam  on  snow.  I  say  his  light 
was  white  and  often  cold  when  we  had  yet  to  swim  many 
hundreds  of  miles  to  fetch  the  parallel  of  the  Horn. 

In  all  the  weeks  we  occupied  in  measuring  our  way  from  the 
island  ere  rounding  the  headland  for  the  Atlantic  we  fell  in 
with  but  one  ship.  It  was  our  good  luck,  and  there  was  noth- 
ing surprising  in  it  either.     In  this  present  year  of  my  writing 


258  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

my  story  it  may  be  your  chance  to  sail  over  a  thousand  leagues 
of  Pacific  water  and  meet  with  nothing.  It  was  a  lonelier 
ocean  in  my  time  than  it  is  now.  Northward,  on  the  e/iua- 
torial  parallel,  there  was,  indeed,  some  life,  but  southward  the 
great  liquid  highway  that  now  every  year  foams  to  the  shearing 
stems  of  half  a  thousand  stately  ships,  was,  in  the  year  of  the 
Black  Watch,  scarce  less  barren  as  a  breast  of  sea  than  when 
it  was  swept  for  the  galleon  by  the  perspective  glasses  of 
Dampier  and  Woodes  Rogers. 

We  fell  in  with  a  little  ship  and  spoke  her,  and  the  speaking 
her  proved  one  of  the  most  memorable  of  all  the  incidents  in 
this  strange  expedition,  as  you  shall  presently  learn  if  you 
choose  to  proceed. 

Greaves  was  on  this  day  very  weak;  he  had  risen  to  break- 
fast, sat  like  the  specter  of  death  at  table,  his  sunken,  leaden, 
black  eyes  wandering  from  me  to  Miss  Aurora  with  the  seek- 
ing gaze  of  one  who  strives  to  collect  his  wats;  then,  rising 
with  a  little  convulsion  of  his  figure,  he  leaned  with  his  hand 
upon  the  table  and  said,  in  a  small  voice,  looking  downward 
and  slightly  smiling: 

"I  must  return  to  my  bunk.  It  isn't  the  machinery  that's 
wrong;  the  spring  has  slackened  and  wants  setting  up  afresh." 

I  took  him  by  the  arm  and  helped  him  to  his  cabin  and  stood 
looking  on,  waitinr;  to  be  of  service,  while  Jimmy  pulled  off 
his  coat  and  shoes.  I  believed  he  would  speak  seriously  of  his 
illness,  for  I  guessed  that  if  he  felt  as  bad  as  he  looked  he 
would  count  himself  a  dying  man.  But  he  had  not  one  word 
to  say  about  his  sensations  or  condition.  When  he  was  in  bed 
I  stood  beside  him,  and  he  lay  with  his  eyes  wide  open,  view- 
ing me  steadfastly  in  silence.      Presently  he  said: 

"Why  [do  you  stand  there?  It's  all  right  with  me.  Get 
back  to  your  breakfast  and  finish  it,  Fielding.  Whose  lookout 
is  it?" 

"Mine,  sir." 

"Why  do  you  stand  there?" 

"I  wish  to  see  if  I  can  be  of  use  to  you,"  said  I,  making  a 
step  toward  the  door. 

"I  am  truly  obliged.  Jimmy  does  all  I  need.  I  want  you 
to  think  of  nothing  but  the  brig.  I  shall  be  quite  well — I  feel 
it,  I  am  sure  of  it — before  we  have  climbed  far  up  the  Atlan- 
tic. By  Isten,  Fielding,  but  it  warms  me  to  the  very  heart  of 
my  soul  to  reflect  that  you  are  in  charge — you  and  not  Van 
Laar.     Van   Laar  it  miglit  have  been,  with  Michael  Greaves 


THE    WHALER.  259 

helpless  In  his  cabin,  and  the  Horn  coming  aboard.  Lord, 
Lord,  wonderful  are  Thy  ways!"  said  he,  turning  up  his  eyes. 
"Now  get  ye  to  your  breakfast.  The  machinery  is  all  right,  I 
tell  you;  the  spring's  fallen  slack,  the  old  clock  loses,  but  the 
tick's  steady.  Fielding,  the  tick's  steady,  my  lad,  and  a  few 
days  will  make  the  time  right  with  me ;  so  get  on  to  your  break- 
fast." 

I  re-entered  the  cabin  and  seated  myself. 

"The  captain  is  bad,"  said  the  lady  Aurora. 

1  answered  with  a  sorrowful  nod.  She  clasped  her  hands 
and  looked  at  me  across  the  table  anxiously,  and  said: 

"He  die." 

''Que  hacer  ?  "  (What  is  to  be  done?)  I  answered,  for  by  this 
time  I  had  picked  up  a  number  of  phrases  from  her. 

She  slightly  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  shook  her  head, 
and,  pointing  upward,  exclaimed  in  Spanish: 

"It  is  as  God  wills." 

Then,  again  fixing  her  fine  eyes,  full  of  fire  and  feeling, 
upon  me,  she,  by  nods  and  gestures,  contrived  to  make  me 
understand  this  question: 

"Suppose  the  captain  dies,  how  is  the  brig  to  get  to  Eng- 
land?" 

I  smiled  and  pointed  to  myself,  and  made  her  gather  that, 
while  I  was  on  board,  the  brig  was  pretty  sure,  in  some  fash- 
ion or  other,  to  head  on  a  true  course  for  England. 

We  continued  to  exchange  our  meaning  in  this  fashion  while 
I  finished  breakfast.  Conversation  between  us  was  scarcely 
now  the  hard  labor  it  formerly  was.  She  had  a  number  of 
words  in  my  tongue  and  1  some  in  hers;  then,  by  being  much 
together — or,  as  I  would  rather  put  it,  having  by  this  time  held 
many  conversations  in  our  fashion  of  discoursing — we  had  got 
to  distinguish  shades  of  signification  which  had  been  wasted 
before  in  one  another's  gaze  and  gestures.  Her  looks  were 
eloquence  itself.  Even  now  was  I  able  to  collect  her  mind 
when  she  talked  to  me  with  her  face  only;  when  she  would 
talk  to  me,  I  say,  for  five  minutes  at  a  time  merely  with  the 
expression  of  her  face,  never  opening  her  lips.  Her  eyes  were 
charged  with  the  language  of  light  and  passions.  She  could 
look  grief,  dismay,  concern,  horror,  pity,  all  other  emotions, 
indeed,  with  an  incomparable  skill,  force,  and  beauty  of  mute 
delivery. 

I  went  on  deck,  and  stepped  to  the  side,  as  was  my  custom, 
to  peer  ahead.     Bol,  who  stood  near  the  skylight,  called  out: 


26o  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

"A  sail!" 

He  pointed  over  the  starboard  bow,  and  looking  that  way,  I 
spied  the  delicate  white  gleam  of  a  ship's  canvas.  It  was 
what  we  should  call  a  fine,  hard  day,  the  atmosphere  strong 
and  tonical,  cold,  but  without  harshness  or  rawness.  The 
breeze  was  fresh  off  the  larboard  beam,  and  swept  with  a 
rushing  noise  betwixt  our  masts — the  breath  of  the  young  giant 
whose  dam  was  the  snow-darkened  Antarctic  hurricane.  The 
surge  was  a  long,  steady  sweep  of  sea,  tall  and  wide,  of  the 
deepest  blue  I  had  ever  beheld.  The  brig,  with  her  yards 
braced  well  forward,  the  bowlines  triced  out,  and  every  cloth 
that  would  draw  pulling  white  as  milk  in  the  white  sunshine 
from  stay  and  yard  and  gaff  and  boom,  was  sweeping  through 
the  water  with  the  speed  of  smoke  down  the  wind.  Magnifi- 
cently buoyant  was  the  vessel's  motion.  The  yeast  of  her 
wake  seethed  to  her  counter  as  she  courtesyed.  Large  birds 
were  flying  over  the  track  of  snow  astern. 

"What  is  that  craft  going  to  prove,  Bol?"  said  I,  taking  up 
the  glass. 

"Dot  vhas  not  long  to  findt  out,"  he  answered. 

In  those  times  our  telescopes  were  not  as  yours  are  now.  I 
leveled  the  long  and  heavy  tube,  but  it  resolved  me  no  more 
of  the  ship  ahead  than  this — that  a  ship  she  was. 

"Shall  ve  shift  our  helium  und  edge  avay?"  said  Bol. 

"I  will  let  you  know,"  said  I,  walking  aft. 

I  waited  a  bit,  looked  at  the  sail  again,  and  found  we  were 
picking  her  up  as  though  she  were  at  anchor.  By  this  time, 
also,  most  of  her  fabric  having  lifted  above  the  sea-line,  I  was 
able  to  tell  that  she  was  square-rigged,  like  ourselves,  but  that, 
unlike  the  Black  Watch,  she  had  short  topgallant  masts; 
whence,  as  you  will  suppose,  I  set  her  down  at  once  as  a 
trader.  This  and  our  overhauling  her  so  rapidly — which 
means,  suppose  her  an  enemy,  then  she  had  no  more  chance 
of  getting  alongside  of  us  than  a  land  crab  a  scudding  rabbit — 
determined  me  to  hold  on  as  we  were. 

You  see  I  was  in  charge  of  the  brig,  and  could  do  as  I 
chose.  Yet  was  it  right  that  I  should  report  the  sail  to 
Greaves,  and  I  called  to  Yan  Bol,  who  stood  in  the  waist,  and 
bade  him  keep  a  lookout  for  a  few  minutes  while  I  went  below.  ■ 
Jimmy  came  out  of  the  captain's  berth  as  I  entered  the  cabin. 
The  lad  held  open  the  door,  and  I  passed  in. 

"I  have  come  to  report  a  sail  right  ahead,  sir." 

He   turned    his   eyes   upon   me   with  such   a   look   as  you 


THE    WHALER.  26 1 

may  behold  in  the  gaze  of  an  old  man  straining  after 
memory. 

"A  sail?"  he  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"Ay,  ay." 

He  smiled  strangely,  fetched  a  long,  trembling  breath,  and 
said: 

"Suppose  she  should  prove  a  galleon?  We  are  rich  enough, 
Fielding.     Leave  her  alone — leave  her  alone." 

"She  is  no  galleon.  She  is  a  small  trader,  I  reckon,  and 
will  be  abreast  of  us  and  astern  while  we're  talking  about  her." 

"We  have  as  much  as  we  need,"  said  he.  "Don't  imperil 
what  you've  got,  man.  D'ye  know.  Fielding,  I  fear  my 
sight's  beginning  to  fail  me.  Jimmy  gave  me  the  Bible  just 
now.  The  type's  big  and  it  came  and  went  in  a  dissolving 
way  like  a  wriggle  of  worms  in  water.  I  would  to  God  there 
was  a  priest  aboard.     I  want  to  ask  some  questions." 

He  closed  his  eyes,  and  with  them  closed  repeated,  "I  want 
to  ask  some  questions. " 

I  waited,  supposing  he  would  look  at  me.  He  kept  his  eyes 
shut;  so,  bidding  Jimmy,  who  stood  in  the  door,  to  have  a 
care  of  his  master,  and  to  keep  within  reach  of  his  hail,  I 
returned  to  the  deck  very  heavy  in  my  spirits;  for  the  depart- 
ure of  this  man  did  then  seem  to  me  a  question  of  hours 
instead  of  days,  nay  weeks,  as  I  had  lately  thought,  so  ill  did 
he  look,  so  darkly  and  miserably  did  his  manner  and  speech 
accentuate  the  menace  of  his  face. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  I  made  out  the  vessel  ahead  to 
be  a  whaler.  I  knew  that  by  her  heavy  davits,  crowd  of  boats 
and  square,  sawed-off  look  when  she  cocked  her  stern  at  us. 
I  showed  Dutch  colors,  scarce  doubting  as  yet  but  that  the 
stranger  would  prove  a  Yankee,  for  in  those  days,  as  now, 
many  American  vessels  fished  in  those  waters,  pursuing  their 
gigantic  game  into  seas  where  the  British  flag  was  rarely  flown 
— that  is,  over  anything  in  search  of  grease.  But  the  Dutch 
flag  had  not  been  blowing  three  minutes  from  our  gaff  end 
when  up  floated  the  red  flag  of  England  to  the  mizzen  mast 
head  of  the  stranger. 

She  was  a  little  ship;  to  describe  her  exactly  she  was  ship- 
rigged  on  the  fore  and  main,  while  on  her  schooner  mizzen 
mast  she  carried  a  cross  jack  and  topsail  yard.  She  lifted, 
ragged  with  weeds,  to  the  heads  of  the  seas,  and  washed  along, 
heavily  rolling  and  pitching,  and  blowing  white  water  off  her 


262  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

bows,  whalelike.  I  shifted  the  hehn  to  close  her  for  the  sake 
of  the  sight  of  a  strange  face,  for  the  sound  of  a  strange  human 
voice.  She  was  abreast  of  us  some  time  before  noon  and  there 
lay  before  us,  foaming  and  plunging,  as  quaint  a  picture  as  the 
ocean  at  that  time  had  to  offer,  liberally  furnished  as  her 
breast  was  with  picturesque  structures.  She  was  as  broad  as 
she  was  long,  of  a  greasy  rusty  black,  and  when  the  sea 
knocked  her  over  she  threw  up  her  round  of  bottom  till  you 
watched  for  the  keel;  and  the  long  grass  streamed  away  from 
her  as  she  rolled  like  hair  from  the  head  of  a  plunging  mer- 
maid. Many  faces  surveyed  us  from  over  her  rail.  Her  sails 
fitted  her  ill,  and  were  dark  with  use.  After  every  roll  and 
plunge  the  water  poured  like  a  mountain  torrent  out  of  her 
head-boards  and  channels;  but  I  had  read  her  name  as  we 
approached — her  name  and  the  name  of  the  town  she  hailed 
from.     She  was  the  Virginia  Creeper  of  Whitby. 

Whitby!  I  had  never  visited  that  town,  but  I  knew  it  in 
fancy  through  the  famous  Cook's  association  with  the  place 
almost  as  well  as  I  knew  in  reality  the  little  towns  of  Deal  and 
Sandwich.  It  was  just  one  of  those  magical  English  words  to 
sweep  the  mind  and  the  imaginations  of  the  mind  clean  out  of 
the  countless  leagues  of  the  Pacific  into  the  narrow  miles  of 
one's  own  home  waters,  there  to  behold  again  with  a  dreamer's 
gaze  the  milk-white  coasts  of  the  south,  the  chocolate  coasts 
of  the  north,  the  red  sail  of  the  smack  plunging  to  the  North 
Sea,  the  brown  sail  of  the  barge  creeping  close  inshore,  the 
projection  of  black  and  tarry  timber  pier,  with  its  cluster  of 
bright-hued  wherries,  the  length  of  sparkling  white  sand,  the 
shingly  incline,  the  careened  boat,  the  figure  of  its  owner  worked 
upon  it  with  a  tar  brush. 

We  foamed  along  together  broadside  to  broadside,  within 
musket  shot,  and  I  hailed  the  whaler  and  was  answered. 

The  man  who  responded  stood  in  the  mzizen  rigging.  He 
wore  a  round  glazed  hat,  a  shawl  about  his  throat,  a  monkey 
coat  to  his  knees.  He  sang  out  to  know  what  shij)  I  was,  and 
1  answered  that  we  were  the  Black  Watch ^  of  London,  char- 
tered by  a  merchant  of  Amsterdam,  and  that  the  captain  and 
mate,  and  most  of  tlie  crew  were  Englishmen.  We  were 
bound  to  London,  I  roared  to  him,  omitting  to  answer  his 
question  where  we  were  from.  Then,  in  answer,  he  shouted 
that  he  was  the  Virginia  Creeper  of  and  from  Whitby,  ten 
months  out,  had  met  with  shocking  bad  luck,  and  was  bound 
out'Of  these  seas  for  the  South  Atlantic.     All  the  whales  had 


I 


THE    WHALER.  263 


gone  east.  Sorry  we  were  in  such  a  hurry.  He  would  have 
been  glad  to  come  aboard  for  a  yarn,  and  for  what  news  from 
home  we  had  to  give  him.  Were  we  still  fighting  the  Yankees? 
A  Yankee  privateer  had  spoke  him  in  the  South  Atlantic,  and 
the  captain  of  the  vessel  sent  a  mate  aboard  him  with  a  box  of 
cigars,  and  this  message — that  the  whaler  was  a  ship  he  never 
meddled  with,  no  matter  under  what  color  he  found  her;  that 
he  honored  a  calling  that  had  given  his  own  nation  her  finest 
race  of  seamen;  and  when  he  sailed  away  he  dipped  to  the 
Virginia  Creeper  as  to  a  friend.  All  this  I  was  able  to  hear. 
The  man,  who  spoke  as  a  Quaker,  delivered  his  words  with  a 
strong,  slightly  nasal  voice,  and  his  words  came  clean  as  the 
sound  of  a  bell  through  the  washing  hiss  of  the  water  and  the 
roar  aloft. 

I  found  time  to  shout  back  that  our  captain  was  dangerously 
ill,  and  to  ask  the  master  of  the  whaler,  as  I  supposed  the  man 
to  be,  if  he  knew  aught  of  physic — of  the  treatment  of  injuries. 
He  shook  his  head  vehemently,  crying  "No!"  thrice,  as 
though  he  would  instantly  kill  any  hope  the  sight  of  him  had 
excited  in  that  way;  and,  indeed,  what  should  a  sailor  know  of 
physic  and  the  treatment  of  such  a  sickness  as  was  fast  killing 
Greaves?  I  asked  the  question  to  ease  my  conscience  and  to 
satisfy  the  crew,  who  were  listening.  I  figured  him  coming 
aboard  and  stifling  a  groan  when  he  saw  Greaves,  vexing  the 
poor,  languishing  man  with  useless  questions  put  to  mark  his 
sympathy,  and  then  coming  out  of  the  berth  to  tell  me  it  was 
a  bad  case. 

We  sped  onward.  The  voice  would  no  longer  carry,  and 
the  whaler  veered  astern  almost  into  our  wake,  with  a  wild 
slap  of  her  foresail,  as  she  plunged  a  heavy  courtesy  of  farewell 
at  us. 

My  notes  of  what  befell  me  in  this  memorable  year  of  Water- 
loo gives  much  to  my  memory,  but  not  everything;  and  I  am 
unable  to  recollect  the  exact  situation  of  the  brig  when  we  fell 
in  with  the  Virginia  Creeper  westward  of  the  Horn.  I  am 
sure,  however,  that  we  were  something  to  the  southward  of  the 
island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  somewhere  about  the  latitude  of 
Valdivia.  This  I  supposed  from  remembrance  of  the  climate. 
But  be  it  as  it  may,  it  was  now,  on  this  date  of  our  speaking 
the  Whitby  whaler,  that  I  confidently  supposed  my  poor  friend 
Greaves  would  not  live  to  see  the  end  of  the  week.  I  have 
told  you  so ;  but  guess  my  surprise  when,  on  coming  on  deck 
at  four  o'clock  that  same  afternoon,  I  found  him  seated  on  a 


264  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

chair,  wrapped  in  a  warm  cloak.  Yan  Bol  walked  to  and  fro 
near  him.  They  had  been  talking.  I  had  heard  the  Dutch- 
man's deep  voice  as  I  stepped  through  the  hatch.  But  if 
Greaves  had  looked  a  dying  man  in  his  berth,  he  showed,  tx) 
be  sure,  ghastly  sick  by  the  light  of  the  day.  I  had  seen 
much  of  him  below,  yet  I  started  when  my  eyes  went  to  his 
face  now,  as  though,  down  to  this  moment,  I  had  not  observed 
the  dreadful  change  that  had  happened  in  him.  Galloon  lay 
at  his  feet.  The  poor  man  smiled  faintly  on  seeing  me,  and 
said  in  a  weak  voice : 

"Did  not  I  tell  you  I  should  be  better  presently?  The 
machinery's  sound,  and,  when  that's  so,  nature  is  your  one 
artist  to  make  it  the  right  time  of  day  with  ye." 

I  conversed  a  little  with  him.  Yan  Bol  stood  by.  I  told 
him  about  the  whaler.  He  motioned  with  a  trembling  white 
hand,  and  said  he  had  heard  all  about  it  from  Yan  Bol, 
Presently  he  wandered  somewhat  in  his  speech,  and  rose  fal- 
teringly,  sending  a  sort  of  blind,  groping  look  round  the  decks; 
but  he  was  too  feeble  to  hold  his  body  erect,  and  the  swing  of 
the  brig,  as  she  reeled  to  a  sea,  flung  him  roughly  back  upon 
his  chair. 

"Let  me  take  you  below,"  said  I. 

He  looked  at  me  as  though  he  did  not  know  me  and  talked 
to  himself.  I  motioned  to  Bol  with  my  head,  and  we  each 
took  an  arm,  and  tenderly — and  I  say  that  there  was  a  tender- 
ness in  Yan  Bol's  handling  of  the  poor  fellow  that  gave  me 
such  an  opinion  of  his  heart  as  helped  me  for  a  little  while  like 
a  fresh  spirit  in  that  time  of  my  distress,  anxiety,  and  fear — 
very  tenderly  I  say,  we  partly  carried,  partly  supported,  the 
captain  into  the  cabin,  whence  he  went,  leaning  on  Jimmy,  to 
his  berth,  looking  behind  him  somewhat  wildly  at  us  who 
stood  watching  him,  and  talking  without  any  sense  that  I  could 
collect. 

"Mr.  Fielding,"  said  Yan  Bol  as  we  regained  the  deck, 
"der  captain  vhas  a  deadt  man." 

"I  wondered  to  find  him  out  of  his  berth." 

"He  vhas  von  minute  talking  like  ash  you  or  me,  und  der 
next  he  vhas  grazy  mit  fancies.  I  likes  to  know  how  dot  vhas 
mit  der  brain.  Von  minute  he  oxes  me  questions  about  der 
vhaler,  as  you  might;  der  next  he  looks  at  me  und  say,  'Vhas 
your  name  Yan  Bol?'  'It  vhas,'  I  answered.  'Vhat  vhas  der 
natural  figure  of  der  Toyfell?'  he  oxes.  'Dot  vhas  a  question 
lor  der  minister,'  says  I.     'Last  night,'  he  says,  'dere  vhas  a 


THE    WHALER.  265 

full  moon,  und  I  saw  a  reflection  like  she  might  be  a  bat's 
upon  der  brightness  of  der  moon.  Dot  reflection  sailed  slowly 
across.  I  ox  you,'  says  he,  'vhas  dot  der  reflection  of  der 
Toyfell — dot,  you  must  know,  is  Brince  of  der  vinds?'  I  keeps 
mine  own  counsel,  und  valks  a  leedle,  und  pretends  dot  der 
brig  vants  looking  after;  und  vhen  I  conies  back  he  oxes  me 
anoder  question  dot  vhas  no  longer  grazy,  but  like  ash  you 
might  ox.     Now,  how  vhas  dot,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"I  am  as  ignorant  as  you,"  said  I;  "but  his  end  is  at  hand. 
He  will  not  long  talk  sensibly  or  crazily.  God  help  him  and 
bless  us  all!  It  is  a  heavy  blow  to  befall  this  little  brig — 'tis 
a  heavier  blow  to  befall  the  poor  gentleman  who  has  shown  us 
how  to  fill  our  pockets  with  dollars;  whose  own  share  would 
make  him  a  happy  and  prosperous  man  for  life." 

"Dot  vhas  so,"  said  Bol;  and  our  conversation  ended. 

Seeing  that  Greaves'  mind  was  loosened,  I  no  longer 
expected  him  to  realize  the  near  approach  of  death.  I  ceased, 
therefore,  to  be  surprised  that  he  did  not  speak  to  me  about 
his  condition.  Sometimes  I  would  ask  myself  whether  it  was 
not  my  duty,  as  his  friend,  to  touch  upon  the  subject  of  his 
state  at  some  favorable  moment  when  his  faculties  were  strong 
enough  for  coherent  discourse.  He  was  dying.  He  must 
soon  die.  He  could  not  live  to  round  the  Horn.  How  would 
he  wish  the  money  he  had  earned  by  this  venture  to  be  dis- 
posed of?  Thirty  thousand  pounds  was  a  large  fortune.  I 
knew  that  he  was  fatherless  and  motherless,  but  no  more  of 
him  did  I  know  than  that.  I  had  never  heard  him  speak  of 
his  relations;  indeed,  throughout  he  had  been  silent  on  the 
subject  of  his  parentage  and  beginnings,  though  he  had  never 
wanted  in  candor  when  he  talked  of  his  first  going  to  sea,  his 
struggles  and  failures  and  sufferings  in  the  vocation. 

But  as  often  as  I  thought  it  proper  to  speak  to  him,  so  often 
did  I  shrink  from  what  was,  perhaps,  an  obligation.  No;  I 
could  not  find  it  in  me  to  tell  him  that  he  was  a  dying  man. 

The  weather  grew  colder,  and  we  met  with  some  hard  gales 
out  of  the  southeast,  which  knocked  us  away  fifty  leagues  to 
the  westward  out  of  our  course.  It  was  Cape  Horn  weather, 
though  we  were  not  up  with  that  headland  yet.  The  dark 
green  seas  rolled  fierce  and  high;  the  sky  hung  low  and  sallow 
and  fled  in  scud.  We  stormed  our  way  along  under  reefed 
canvas,  showing  all  that  we  durst,  and  making  good  average 
way,  seeing  that  the  gale  was  off  the  bow  and  the  seas  like 
cliffs  for  the  little  brig  to  burst  through. 


266  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Anxiety  lay  very  heavy  upon  me  all  this  time.  I  had  con- 
fidence in  Yan  Bol's  seamanship,  but  I  had  more  faith  in  my- 
self; and  I  was  up  and  down  in  my  watch  below  to  look  after 
the  brig,  till,  when  the  twenty-four  hours  had  come  round,  I 
would  find  I  had  not  passed  two  of  them  in  sleep. 

The  cold  found  the  lady  Aurora  without  warm  apparel. 
The  dress  she  had  been  shipwrecked  in  was  of  some  gay, 
glossy  stuff,  plentiful  in  skirt,  and  as  warm  as  a  cobweb. 
What  was  to  be  done?  It  was  not  to  be  borne  that  she  should 
sit  shivering  in  the  cabin  for  the  want  of  apparel  that  would 
enable  her  to  look  abroad  whenever  she  had  a  mind  to  pass 
through  the  hatch;  so,  after  turning  the  matter  over  in  my 
mind,  one  morning,  soon  after  our  meeting  with  the  whaler,  I 
ordered  Jimmy  and  another  to  bring  the  slop  chest  into  the 
cabin.  It  was  a  great  box,  and  one  of  two.  Both  were  of 
Tulp's  providing.  The  old  chap  guessed  he  saw  his  way  to 
making  money  out  of  the  sailors  by  putting  cheap  clothes 
aboard  for  sale,  and  it  was  likely  enough  he  would  find  his 
little  venture  in  this  way  answerable  to  his  expectations  when 
we  got  home,  for  already  one  of  the  chests  was  emptied  of 
two-thirds  of  its  contents,  the  sailors  (I  being  one  of  them) 
having  purchased  at  an  advance  of  about  eighty  per  cent,  upon 
what  would  be  rated  ashore  as  a  very  high  selling  price. 

Well,  one  of  the  slop  chests  was  brought  up  and  put  in  the 
cabin.  I  had  tried  to  make  Miss  Aurora  understand  what  I 
meant — to  no  purpose.  Now,  lifting  the  lid  of  the  chest,  she 
standing  by  me  and  looking  down  upon  the  queer  collection  of 
sailors'  clothing,  I  pulled  out  a  monkey  coat,  big  enough  for 
the  sheathing  of  even  Yan  Bol's  bolster-like  figure,  and,  hold- 
ing it  up,  went  to  work  to  make  myself  intelligible.  I  put  the 
coat  on  her.  I  then  touched  it  here  and  there  to  signify  that, 
by  shaping  a  waist,  and  cutting  in  at  the  dip  of  the  back,  by 
shortening  the  sleeves  and  fixing  the  velvet  collar  to  suit  her 
throat,  she  might  make  a  very  good  figure  of  a  jacket  for  her- 
self out  of  the  coat.  I  then  took  a  cap  from  the  chest,  and  I 
placed  it  upon  her  head,  advising,  as  best  I  could  by  signs  and 
words,  that  she  should  stitch  flaps  to  it  to  shelter  her  ears, 
with  strings  to  keep  the  thing  on  her  head  in  wind.  I  went 
further  still,  being  resolved  that  the  lady  should  go  warmly 
clad  round  the  Horn,  and,  calling  to  Jimmy,  bade  him  bring 
me  up  a  bale  of  spare  blankets.  I  heartily  longed  for  a  Span- 
ish dictionary,  that  I  might  give  her  the  word  petticoat  out  of 
it.     However,  she  caught  my  drift  after  a  little,  on  my  select- 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  267 

ing  one  of  the  finest  of  the  blankets  and  putting  it  about  her 
and  holding  it  to  her  waist.     She  nodded  and  laughed. 

I  witnessed  no  embarrassment,  and,  in  honest  truth,  there 
was  no  cause  for  embarrassment.  Yet  I  do  not  suppose  that 
an  English  girl — at  least,  that  many  English  girls — would  have 
made  this  little  business  of  suggesting  apparel,  and  hinting  at 
clothing  which  a  man  is  not  supposed  to  know  anything  at  all 
about  until  he  is  married,  so  pleasant  and  easy  as  did  this 
Spanish  maiden. 

Well,  her  ladyship  was  now  supplied  with  materials  for  warm 
clothing,  and  that  same  afternoon  she  went  to  work  on  the 
coat.  Hard  work  it  was.  She  wanted  shears  for  such  cloth 
as  that,  and  managed  with  difficulty  with  a  sailor's  knife  fresh 
from  the  grindstone ;  yet,  by  next  afternoon,  having  worked 
all  that  day  and  all  next  morning,  she  had  given  something  of 
the  shape  of  her  own  figure  to  the  coat.  She  put  it  on  for  me 
to  look  at.  It  wrapped  her  bravely ;  and  when,  with  v/hite 
teeth  showing,  she  placed  the  cap  on  her  head,  her  beauty — 
and  beauty  dark,  speaking,  impressive  I  must  call  it — took  a 
quality  of  brightness,  a  piquancy  that  comes  to  beauty  from 
male  attire ;  in  her  case  wanting  when  ordinarily  dressed,  of 
such  gravity  and  dignity  was  her  bearing,  of  such  a  natural, 
womanly  loftiness  were  the  whole  figure  and  looks  of  her. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  sailor's  will. 

After  a  troublesome  spell  of  stormy  weather  there  happened 
a  fine  afternoon,  and  when  the  evening  drew  around  the  shadow 
was  richer  in  stars  than  any  tropic  night  I  ever  beheld.  The 
wind  was  light  ;  the  ocean  breathed  in  a  long  swell  from  the 
north  ;  the  atmosphere  was  frosty,  but  sweet  and  comfortably 
endurable. 

We  had  sent  down  our  royal  yards,  yet  to-night  was  a  night 
for  royals  and  studding  sails — a  night  to  be  made  the  most  of. 
The  ocean  was  off  guard,  asleep,  and  easily  might  we  have 
stolen  past  the  slumbering  sentinel,  clothed  from  truck  to 
waterway  in  the  tall,  wide  wings  we  had  expanded  in  the  north. 

But  the  old  villain  was  not  to  be  trusted  ;  twas  but  a  snort 
and  a  stir  with  him  down  here,  then  a  hideous  black  cloud  fly- 
ing at  your  ship,  and  hail  and  wind  to  which  the  stoutest  must 
give  his  back, 


268  LIST,   YE  LANDSMEN ! 

So  this  evening  we  flapped  slowly  onward  under  topgallant 
sails  and  courses,  and  the  long  naked  poles  of  the  royal  masts 
made  a  wreck  of  the  fabric  to  the  eye  up  aloft  as  they  swung 
the  dim  buttons  of  their  trucks  under  the  stars. 

It  was  seven  o'clock.  I  had  an  hour  to  smoke  my  pipe  in 
before  my  watch  came  round.  I  stood  on  the  brig's  quarter, 
leaning  upon  the  bulwark  rail.  The  sea  ran  in  thick,  noiseless 
folds  like  black  grease,  and  I  hung  smoking  and  hearkening  to 
a  queer  respiration  out  upon  the  water — the  noise  of  the  blow- 
ing of  grampuses  sunk  in  the  blackness.  Presently  my  name 
was  pronounced.  I  turned,  and  by  the  light  in  the  companion 
way  beheld  the  figure  of  the  boy  Jimmy. 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"The  captain  wants  to  see  you,  master." 

I  knocked  the  fire  out  of  my  pipe. 

'*  What  is  wrong  ?"  said  I,  in  a  voice  of  awe,  for  even  as  the 
lad  had  called,  my  thoughts  were  busy  with  the  dying  man, 
and  my  heart  heavy  with  sadness. 

"The  captain's  very  bad  to-night,  master." 

This  was  the  third  day  Greaves  had  kept  his  berth  without 
attempting  or  expressing  a  wish  to  leave  it.  During  these  days 
he  had  been  more  than  usually  rambling  and  incoherent,  inso- 
much that  my  visits  had  been  brief  because  there  was  nothing 
to  be  said.  I  had  looked  in  upon  him  merely  to  satisfy  myself 
on  his  condition.  I  knew  not  how  I  should  find  him  now,  and 
sat  me  down  on  a  chest  beside  his  bunk.  Galloon  lay  on  the 
deck.  The  lamp  gave  a  strong  light ;  Greaves  saw  me  and  I 
him  very  plain.  There  was  an  intelligence  in  his  looks  that 
had  been  wanting — his  countenance  was  knitted  into  its 
old  expression  of  mind,  as  though  by  an  effort  of  the  fac- 
ulties. 

"  D'ye  know,  Fielding,  I  fear  that  I  am  very  ill  ?"  said  he  in 
a  weak  voice. 

"  You  do  not  feel  worse,  I  hope  ?"  said  I. 

"I  don't  like  my  sensations.  I  don't  understand  them.  It 
has  crossed  my  mind  that  I  am  dying." 

"  111  you  are  and  have  been,  captain  ;  yet  less  ill  to-night,  it 
seems  to  me,  tlian  you  were  yesterday.  God  preserve  you  ! 
What  can  I  do?  Here  we  are,  out  upon  the  wild  sea,  nothing 
but  Spanish  ports  to  make  for  ;  but  say  the  word  and  I'll  head 
the  brig  for  the  port  you  shall  name.  We  must  forfeit  our 
dollars,  but  your  life  stands  first." 

"It  is  too  late,"  he  said. 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  269 

"  For  God's  sake  don't  say  that !  Ought  I  to  have  sought 
help  on  the  coast  ?" 

"It  is  too  late,"  he  repeated,  and  sank  into  a  silence  that 
lasted  a  minute  or  two. 

**Have  you  believed  that  I  am  dying  ?  "  said  he. 

"  I  have  believed  you  ill — sometimes  very  ill." 

"  It  will  be  hard  to  die  here,  all  this  way  from  home.  The 
launch  over  the  side  makes  a  deep  burial.     I  buried  a  man 

hereabouts  last  voyage,  and How  deep  is  it  ?     Has  he 

touched  the  bottom  yet  ? — with  a  twenty-four  pound  shot  at 
his  heels  too." 

"  Don't  think  of  such  things." 

*'  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  but  I  wish  there  was  a  priest  aboard — 
someone  to  help  me  to  steady  my  thoughts.  I  believe  in  all 
that  should  make  a  man  a  good  Christian.     What's  the  time  ?" 

"A  little  after  eight,  sir." 

"  What  noise  of  hissing  is  that  ?" 

"Grampuses  have  been  blowing  out  to  larboard  ;  some  may 
have  come  alongside." 

"  Ay,  me  !  "  he  cried.  "  There  is  the  hand  of  the  devil  in 
this  snatching  away  of  my  life  now,  when  the  days  show 
brightly,  and  my  head  is  full  of  plans  of  goodness.  How  about 
the  money,  Fielding  ?  " 

"  What  money,  sir  ?  " 

"  Mine,  mine,"  he  exclaimed  with  irritation.  "Yours  you'll 
keep  and  welcome,  and  don't  let  the  spending  of  it  damn  ye. 
Mine,  I  say.  What't  to  become  of  it  ?  If  I  die,  what's  to 
become  of  my  money  ?  Must  it  go  to  Tulp  ?  By  Isten,  no, 
then  !  "  he  exclaimed,  with  a  rather  crazy  laugh. 

"  Have  you  no  relations  ?  " 

"  Tulp's  no  relation." 

"  Have  you  no  relation  whatever  ?  " 

"  None,  I  tell  ye." 

"Few  men  can  say  that,"  said  I  doubtingly. 

"  Fielding,  I  am  dying,  and  I  will  leave  my  money  to  God." 

He  spoke  faintly,  his  appearance  was  very  alarming  ;  his 
eyes  moved  slowly  and  strangely. 

"  Tell  me  your  wishes?     If  I  live  they  shall  be  carried  out." 

He  repeated  in  a  low  voice  that  he  would  leave  his  money 
to  God. 

''In  what  form  can  this  be  done  ?"  said  I,  fearing  that  his 
mind  was  giving  way  again. 

"  I  will  leave  my  money  to  the  Church,"  hq  answered. 


2-JO  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  What  Church  ?  " 

He  made  no  answer. 

"  What  Church,  Captain  ? "  I  repeated,  bending  my  face  to  his. 

"  Rome,"  he  answered. 

"  In  what  religion  did  your  mother  die  ?"  said  I. 

His  eyes  ceased  to  wander,  he  gazed  at  me  steadfastly  ;  but 
as  he  was  silent,  I  again  asked  him  in  what  faith  his  mother 
had  died. 

"  She  was  a  Protestant,"  he  answered  ;  "she  belonged  to  the 
Church  of  England." 

"  Leave  your  money  to  the  Church  in  whose  faith  your 
mother  sleeps.  Should  not  a  mother's  faith  be  the  holiest  of 
all  to  a  child  ?  Captain,  there  is  no  better  faith  than  was  your 
mother's." 

"  Who  talks  to  me  of  my  mother  ?  "  said  he.  "  She  married 
Bartholomew  Tulp.  Well,  she  was  a  very  good  woman.  She 
has  gone  to  God.  She  was  poor — she  married  for  a  home,  and 
to  help  me,  as  I  have  often  since  believed.  I  will  leave  my 
money  to  her  memory.     What  time  is  it  ? " 

I  again  told  him  the  time. 

"  How  is  the  weather  ?  " 

"  A  fine,  quiet  night." 

"  There  is  water  in  that  can  ;  give  me  a  drink." 

When  he  had  drunk  he  asked  me  to  lift  the  dog,  that  he 
might  pat  his  head.  He  feebly,  with  a  pale,  thin  hand,  touched 
the  ears  of  the  poor  beast  ;  and  as  he  did  so,  I  thought  of  that 
time  when  I  lay  in  a  hammock,  trembling  and  helpless,  with  a 
weakness  as  cf  death,  and  when  he  had  lifted  Galloon  that  I 
might  kiss  the  dog  that  had  saved  my  life. 

"  Who  has  the  watch  ?  " 

"Bol,  sir." 

"  Will  you  write  for  me,  Fielding  ?  " 

"Anything  will  I  do  for  you." 

I  seated  myself  at  the  little  table  that  was  near  his  bunk. 
It  was  furnished  with  ink  and  quills.  I  opened  a  drawer  and 
found  paper,  and  waited  for  him  to  speak. 

"Tulp  shall  not  have  my  money,"  said  he  ;  "  the  old  rogue 
is  rich,  and  he  has  a  noble  share  in  Avhat  is  below.  Too  much 
— too  much.  And  yet  it  was  his  venture.  Let  me  be  reason- 
able. He  shall  not  have  one  dollar  of  my  money,  by  God  !  If 
I  die,  and  the  money  goes  home,  he  will  take  it.  I  would  see 
him  damned  before  he  touched  a  dollar  of  my  money.  Hasn't 
he  enough  ?  " 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  27 1 

"  More  than  enough." 

"  I  will  leave  the  money  to  the  memory  of  my  mother.  The 
thought  comforts  me.  I  was  her  only  child — I  left  her  very 
young  ;  1  was  not  to  her  as  I  should  have  been.     Write,  Field- 

He  dictated,  but  ramblingly,  with  so  much  of  incoherence, 
indeed,  breaking  off  to  talk  to  himself,  to  ask  the  time,  to 
whisper  some  sea  adventure,  which  he  would  go  half  through 
with  and  then  drop,  that,  even  if  my  memory  carried  what  he 
said,  it  would  be  mere  silliness  in  the  reading.  However,  his 
wish  was  to  dictate  a  will,  which  was  to  be  embodied  in  a  very 
few  sentences.  So  when  he  had  made  an  end  and  lay  still,  I 
wrote  as  follows : 

■  Brig  Black  Watch,  at  sea.  February  the  24th,  1815.  This  is  the  last 
will  and  testament  of  me,  Michael  Greaves,  master  of  the  above  brig — at  the 
time  of  signing  this  in  full  command  of  my  senses.  I  hereby  bequeath  all 
th»  money  I  have  in  the  world  to  the  Church  of  England,  in  memory  of  my 
mother  ;  and  I  desire  that  the  money  I  thus  bequeath  may  be  devoted  to  a 
memorial  that  shall  forever  perpetuate  the  love  I  bear  to  the  memory  of  my 
mother,  whose  soul  is  with  God. 

It  was  the  best  form  of  will  I  could  devise,  knowing  little  of 
such  matters  ;  but  since  it  was  his  wish  that  the  money  should 
be  dedicated  to  God,  most  reasonable  was  it  that  I,  as  an 
Englishman,  should  wish  to  see  it  bequeathed  to  the  Church  of 
my  own  and  of  his  country.  And  I  was  the  warmer  in  this 
desire  in  that  the  money  was  Spanish  ;  by  which  I  mean  that 
nothing  could  be  more  proper  than  that  the  dollars  of  the  most 
bigoted  people  in  all  creation,  in  religious  matters,  should  go 
to  the  support  of  the  purest,  the  most  liberal,  the  very  noblest 
of  all  churches.  Bear  ye  in  mind,  it  was  the  year  1815  ;  when 
our  esteem  of  the  foreigner  and  his  faith  was  not  as  it  is. 

"  What  have  you  written  ?  "  said  he, 

I  read  aloud. 

"It  will  do,"  he  exclaimed;  "read  it  again."  I  did  so. 
"Will  not  thirty  thousand  pounds  build  a  church  ?  "  said  he. 

"  It  will  build  a  ship,"  said  I.  "  I  know  nothing  of  the  cost 
of  building  a  church." 

"Write  down  that  I  want  a  church  built,"  said  he. 

This  I  did. 

"Write  down,"  said  he,  "that  I  leave  one  thousand  pounds 
to  you,  for  having  saved  my  life." 

I  hesitated  and  looked  at  him,  and  then  said,  "  My  dear 
friend,  I  thank  you,  but  you  have  put  enough  in  my  way." 


272  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"  Write  it  down,  write  it  down,"  he  cried.  I  wrote  as  he  dic- 
tated. "  Now,"  said  he,  "  can  I  sign  ?  "  and  he  lifted  his  hand 
as  though  feeling  for  strength  to  control  a  pen. 

I  opened  the  door  and  called  to  Jimmy,  who  was  putting  wine 
and  biscuit  on  the  table.  I  asked  the  lad  if  he  could  write.  He 
answered,  "  No."  I  put  a  pen  into  Greaves'  hand,  and  he 
scratched  his  signature  under  the  three  clauses  I  had  written 
down.  His  vision  was  dim,  and  he  saw  with  difficulty  when 
it  came  to  his  writing,  but  on  my  directing  the  point  of  the  pen 
in  his  hand  to  the  paper  he  wrote  with  some  vigor.  I  bade 
Jimmy  take  notice  of  what  I  was  about  to  read,  and  when  I  had 
read  I  signed  my  name,  and  the  lad  made  his  mark,  which  I 
witnessed. 

All  this  was  very  innocent.  I  was  a  sailor,  with  no  more  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  than  a  sliip's  figurehead,  and  little  dreamed 
that  I  was  rendering  my  interest  in  poor  Greaves'  will  worth- 
less by  attesting  it.  But,  as  things  turned  out,  it  mattered 
nothing,  as  you  shall  read. 

Jimmy  went  into  the  cabin  to  wait  on  the  lady. 

"  Will  you,  or  shall  I  keep  this  will  ?  "  said  I. 

"You,"  he  answered.  "  I  give  you  Galloon,"  said  he  after  a 
pause,  and  now  speaking  with  tlie  faintness  I  had  observed  in 
him  when  I  first  arrived.     "You'll  love  him,  Fielding." 

I  put  my  cheek  to  the  dog's  face.  "  I  am  glad  to  have  your 
wishes,"  said  I.  "  Should  you  be  taken  before  we  get  home  I 
shall  know  what  to  do,  if  I  outlive  you."  He  feebly  smiled. 
"  Oh,  but  the  risks  of  the  sea  are  many — we  know  that.  A  man 
goes  with  his  life  in  one  hand.  You  are  far  from  dead  yet.  It 
is  I  who  may  be  the  dying  man." 

"  I  wish  there  was  a  priest  on  board  to  settle  my  doubts," 
said  he,  scarcely  above  a  whisper,  and  now  his  eyes  began  to 
look  strangely  again. 

"  What  are  your  doubts  ?  " 

"  Is  there  a  hell,  Fielding  ?  " 

"Not  for  sailors,  captain." 

He  steadied  his  eyes,  and  smiled  with  an  odd  parting  of  his 
lips,  that  was  like  the  first  of  a  gape. 

"  Not  for  sailors,  sir,"  said  I.  "  Hell  is  here  for  them.  There 
can't  be  two  hells  for  the  same  man." 

"  I'd  like  to  think  that,"  said  he.  "  I  am  afraid  of  going  to 
hell.  I've  been  afraid  of  dying  ever  since  they  put  the  notion 
of  the  devil  into  my  head.  I  told  ye  just  now  I  wasn't  afraid  of 
death.     Nor  am  I,  when  I  forget  the  devil.     I  forgot  him  then. 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  273 

Now  he's  back  again.     Give  me  some  water  and  open  the  scut- 
tle— it's  grown  blasted  hot,  hasn't  it?" 

He  sat  up  on  a  sudden,  andimmediately  afterward  sank  back. 
Again  I  gave  him  to  drink,  and  opened  the  scuttle  as  he  desired. 

He  now  rambled.  Some  of  his  imaginations  were  wild  and 
striking.  The}'  even  struck  an  awe  into  me,  though  perhaps 
much  of  their  impressiveness  lay  in  their  falling  from  dying  lips. 
His  poor  head  ran  on  religion — and  sometimes  he  was  to  be 
saved,  and  sometimes  he  was  to  be  damned  ;  and  then  he  would 
forget,  and  babble  about  what  he  meant  to  do  when  he  got 
home  ;  how  so  much  of  his  money  would  go  in  giving  clothes 
and  food  to  the  poor,  and  how  he'd  collect  many  kinds  of 
animals  and  use  them  well,  fearing  them,  for  who  was  to  tell 
what  souls  of  men  they  contained  ;  and  there  might  be  a  human 
sorrow  in  the  bleat  of  a  goat,  and  a  man's  passion  in  the  silence 
of  a  suffering  horse. 

I  cannot  tell  you  what  he  talked  about.  It  matters  not.  Yet 
one  strange  thing  that  happened  this  evening  let  me  note.  It 
was  this  :  he  had  sunk  into  silence,  and  I  was  about  to  quit 
his  cabin  for  the  deck.  He  had  been  talking  very  wildly,  and 
sometimes,  to  my  young,  green,  superstitious  mind,  almost 
terrifyingly  ;  then  had  fallen  still  all  in  a  moment,  his  eyes 
closed,  his  lips  shut.  I  stooped  to  look  at  him,  then  turned  to 
go,  as  I  have  said.  My  hand  was  on  the  door,  when  I  heard 
his  voice  : 

"Fielding,  will  ye  sing?  " 

I  went  back  wondering,  and  asked  him  what  he  said. 

"  Will  ye  sing  ?  "  he  exclaimed. 

I  supposed  this  a  part  of  his  sad,  dying  nonsense,  yet,  to 
humor  him,  answered  : 

"  I  will  sing  for  you,  captain." 

*'  Sing  me  '  Tom  Bowling,'  "  said  he. 

I  sat  down,  and  Galloon  laid  his  head  on  my  knee.  My 
voice  was  broken,  but  I  strove  to  put  a  cheerfulness  into  it, 
and  sang  the  opening  verse  of  "  Tom  Bowling."  He  lay  quiet 
while  I  sang.  When  I  came  to  the  end  of  the  verse,  he  looked 
at  me  and,  when  I  paused,  believing  he  had  had  enough,  he 
sang  the  closing  lines  in  a  feeble  voice  : 

"  Faithful  below  he  did  his  duty. 
And  now  he's  gone  aloft." 

When  he  ceased,  his  eyes  were  full  of  tears.  He  put  out  his 
hand,  and  I  took  it,  myself  weeping,  for  the  sight  of  his  tears 


274  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

had  unmanned  me.  I  felt  a  gentle  pressure.  He  then  turned 
his  face  to  the  ship's  side,  and  after  I  had  watched  by  him  for 
about  five  minutes,  during  which  he  breathed  quietly  but  spoke 
not,  I  passed  out  and  Avent  on  deck. 

Whether  Greaves  feared  death  or  not  I  don't  know.  I  will 
not,  however,  believe  he  thought  he  was  dying.  Frequently 
wall  a  man  tell  you  that  he  is  dying  when  his  belief  is  the  other 
way.     His  fears  betray  the  secret  of  his  hopes. 

Happily,  from  this  night  Greaves  lost  his  senses,  sank  into  a 
lethargy,  and  lay  motionless  as  death  for  hours  ;  then  awoke, 
but  never  to  consciousness,  though  often  he  would  call  out  from 
amid  the  darkness  that  lay  upon  him,  with  so  much  reason  in 
his  exclamations  as  made  me  imagine  his  mind  was  returned. 
Whatever  he  said  that  had  sense  was  nautical.  Once  he  put 
the  brig  about  in  his  wanderings.  He  startled  me,  who  had 
entered  his  cabin  but  a  minute  or  two  before,  by  a  sharp,  hard 
cry  of  : 

"  Ready  about  !  " 

He  followed  on  with  the  proper  orders,  pausing  with  all  the 
judgment  you  can  imagine  for  the  intervals,  and,  when  he  sup- 
posed he  had  got  the  brig  on  the  other'tack,  the  bowlines  triced 
out,  and  the  gear  coiled  away,  he  whispered  awhile  briskly  : 

"  Now  she  stumps  it,"  said  he.  "  Clap  the  jigger  on  that 
main-tack,  my  lads  !  Get  a  small  pull  of  the  weather  main 
royal  brace.  Flatten  in  that  jib  sheet  there.  Damme,  Mr, 
Walker,  we  don't  want  balloons  on  our  jib  booms." 

So  would  he  wander,  and  all  that  he  said  in  tJiis  way  was 
sensible. 

When  he  lost  his  mind  the  lady  Aurora  offered  to  nurse  him. 
He  did  not  recognize  her  ;  and,  down  to  the  hour  of  his  death, 
she  was  in  and  out  of  his  cabin,  dressing  little  delicate  messes 
of  fowl  and  tortoise  and  the  like  in  the  caboose,  feeding  him, 
damping  the  sweat  from  his  face,  ministering  to  him  in  many 
ways.  He  would  have  died  quickly  but  for  her.  Jimmy  had 
no  knowledge  of  feeding  or  preparing  food  for  him.  Not  a 
soul  of  the  rough  junks  forward  were  fit  for  such  work  ;  and 
the  business  of  the  brig  kept  my  hands  full. 

The  day  before  Greaves  died,  I  entered  his  cabin,  and  found 
the  lady  on  her  knees  beside  his  bunk.  She  looked  slowly 
round  on  my  entering,  crossed  herself,  rose,  and,  putting  her 
hand  upon  my  arm,  whispered  in  English  : 

"  Shall  he  not  die  Catolique  ?  " 

I  answered  with  one  of  those  shrugs  which  I  had  got  from  her. 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  275 

"  He  is  Catolique,"  said  she, 

"No,"  said  I. 

"But,  yes— but,  yes." 

"  Very  well,"  said  I. 

"  He  shall  die  Catolique,"  said  she,  "or " 

And  now,  wanting  words,  she  signed  to  let  me  know  that,  if 
he  did  not  die  Catolique,  his  soul  went  in  danger.  Happily, 
we  had  not  language  for  argument.  Her  eyes  sparkled  ;  she 
looked  at  me  hotly.  There  was  the  temper  of  the  religious  en- 
thusiast in  the  whole  manner  of  her. 

"  Her  uncle  is  a  priest,"  thought  I.  "  There  may  be  the 
blood  of  an  Inquisitor  in  this  fine  woman,"  I  thought.  "Ay, 
and  even  though  she  was  my  mistress,  and  I  her  impassioned 
sweetheart,  and  even  though  she  loved  me  with  the  jealous  heat 
of  a  Spanish  heart,  all  the  same  is  she  just  the  sort  of  party  to 
order  me,"  thought  I,  "  to  the  stake,  and  watch  me  with  an 
unmoved  face  while  I  was  doing  to  a  turn,  if  she  supposed  the 
burnt-offering  of  a  shell-back  would  help  her  with  the  saints 
and  give  her  Jack's  soul  a  true  course." 

Here  poor  Greaves,  who  had  lain  motionless,  suddenly  let 
out.     He  seemed  to  be  hailing  a  boat. 

"  Why  the  devil  don't  you  pull  your  larboard  oars  ?  You 
infernal  lubbers  !  what's  the  good  of  all  hands  pulling  to  star- 
board ?  Look  at  the  boat.  TVi/Visthe  ship,  you  fools — there  ! 
JVow  ye've  done  it.  Plague  take  ye.  Twenty  stone  of  prime 
beef  foundered  !  Lower  a  boat  and  pick  'em  up.  Lower  a 
boat  and  pick — lower  a  boat — lower " 

"  He  shall  die  Catolique,"  said  Miss  Aurora. 

In  what  faith  he  departed  this  life  is  known  to  his  Maker. 
Greaves  went  under  hatches  next  day,  in  the  afternoon,  at  one 
o'clock.  A  strong  wind  was  blowing,  a  high  sea  running,  it 
was  bitterly  cold  ;  the  windward  horizon  was  sullen  with  the 
black  shadows  of  clouds,  out  of  which  the  dark  green  seas 
ridged  in  hills,  with  such  a  toss  of  spray  from  every  foaming 
head  that  the  wind  sparkled  with  the  flying  brine.  The  brig 
labored  heavily.  She  was  under  small  canvas,  and  the  sea 
broke  against  her,  in  a  sound  of  guns.  I  was  watching  her 
anxiously,  intending,  if  it  came  harder,  to  heave  her  to.  The 
blubbered  face  of  Jimmy  showed  in  the  companion  way. 

"Master,"  said  he,  "the  captain's  dead." 

I  spied  Bol  to  leeward  of  the  caboose,  and  bawled  to  him  to 
lay  aft,  and  stepped  below. 

Yes,  Greaves  lay  dead.     The  peace  of  eternity  was  upon  his 


276  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

face,  the  peace  that  comes  not  until  the  noise  of  the  clock  falls 
upon  the  deaf  ear.  At  every  other  moment  the  thick  glass  scut- 
tle, through  which  the  daylight  came,  rolled  in  thunder  under 
water,  and  was  hidden  in  whiteness  ;  then  a  dark  green  shadow 
was  in  the  cabin  ;  then  the  light  brightened,  as  the  weeping 
glass  was  lifted.  It  was  like  being  buried  in  the  sea  with  the 
dead  man,  to  stand  in  that  cabin  and  listen  to  the  roar  of  water 
round  about,  and  mark  the  green  dimness  like  daylight  dying  out. 

I  stood  looking  at  Greaves.  Beside  me  crouched  Galloon. 
Every  now  and  again  the  dog  uttered  a  sort  of  low,  sobbing 
howl.  How  did  he  know  that  his  master  was  dead  ?  /  can't 
tell.  He  crouched  beside  me,  I  say,  weeping  in  his  way,  and  I 
dare  swear  that  he  better  knew  the  captain  was  dead  than  I, 
who  indeed  guessed  him  dead  by  his  looks,  though  I  svould 
not  have  buried  him  in  that  hour  for  a  million. 

I  drew  the  head  of  the  blanket  over  the  poor  man's  face, 
and  went  to  the  door,  with  a  call  to  Galloon  to  follow.  The 
dog  did  not  stir. 

"  Come,"  cried  I,  and  approached  him.  He  growled  fiercely, 
and  I  saw  danger  in  his  eye.  "  Well,  poor  beast,"  said  I  in  my 
heart,  "you  shall  watch  and  mourn  in  your  fashion  ;"  and  I 
came  away,  and  sat  down  at  the  cabin  table,  and  leaned  my 
head  upon  my  hand  to  let  pass  an  oppression  of  tears  that  had 
visited  my  throat  and  was  darkening  my  sight. 

I  had  saved  his  life,  and  he  mine  ;  we  had  spent  many  weeks 
together,  exchanged  many  thoughts,  together  paced  out  many 
a  long  hour  of  the  day  and  night  ;  he  had  been  my  friend,  ship- 
mate, messmate,  and  I  knew  not  how  warm  was  my  love  for 
him  until  now.  The  sea  brings  men  close  together,  and  there 
is  the  companionship  of  peril  and  a  sense  of  isolation  and  re- 
moteness that  is  binding.  A  man  is  missed  at  sea  as  he  never 
can  be  missed  ashore.  Ashore  is  a  vast  field  filled  with  dis- 
tractions for  the  mind  :  the  greatest  ship  is  but  a  speck  on  the 
deep  ;  you  may  walk  the  length  of  her,  and  descend  to  the 
depth  of  her  in  a  few  minutes,  and  over  the  side  is  the  monotony 
of  heaven  and  water,  thrusting  the  spirit  back  upon  its  imprison- 
ment of  bulwarks,  and  compelling  the  mind  to  perpetual  con- 
sideration of  all  the  life  that  is  contained  within  the  narrow 
walls  of  timber. 

I  raised  my  head  and  found  the  lady  Aurora  sitting  opposite 
me.  She  may  have  come  from  her  cabin  quietly  or  not  ;  her 
movements  were  not  to  have  been  heard  amid  the  straining 
sounds  of  that  tossing  interior. 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  277 

"  The  poor  captain  is  dead,"  said  she. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered. 

"Blessed  Virgin,  he  has  suffered.  He  is  now  at  peace,"  said 
she,  partly  in  English,  partly  in  Spanish. 

*'  Were  you  with  him  when  he  died  ?  "  I  called  to  the  boy, 
who  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  companion  steps,  white  and  grin- 
ning. 

"Yes,  master." 

"  Come  here,  my  lad.     Did  he  speak  before  he  died  ? " 

"  Master,  he  lifted  up  his  right  hand  and  sung  out  '  from 
under  !  '  then  rattled." 

"  How  did  you  know  he  was  dead  ?" 

"  I  saw  father  die,  master,  and  last  voyage  the  cook  died,  and 
I  saw  him  go." 

Miss  Aurora  looked  as  if  she  would  have  me  interpret  Greaves' 
dying  exclamation.  I  drained  a  tumbler  of  rum-and-water  to 
cheer  me,  and  going  on  deck  found  Yan  Bol  standing  beside 
the  companion  way  waiting. 

*'  Vhas  der  captain  deadt  ?  "  said  he. 

"  He  is  dead,"  I  answered. 

"  Und  vhat  vas  to  become  of  her  share,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  " 

"  He'll  not  be  cold  for  some  hours,  and  he  keeps  his  share 
till  we  bury  him." 

I  walked  away.  When  I  turned  the  Dutchman  still  stood 
where  I  had  left  him,  looking  toward  me.  He  then  rolled  for- 
ward and  entered  the  caboose. 

There  was  no  more  weight  of  wind.  In  a  few  hours'  time  I 
should  be  keeping  the  brig  more  off  for  the  Horn.  I  forget 
our  latitude  on  the  day  of  Greaves'  death.  It  was  something 
south  of  the  parallel  of  the  Horn,  and  our  longitude  was  right 
for  a  shift  of  the  helm. 

I  walked  the  deck,  thinking  much  of  Greaves.  What  had 
killed  him  ?  He  had  been  long  a-dying,  ever  since  his  accident, 
indeed.  No  doubt  that  injury  betwixt  his  ribs  had  brought 
about  his  death,  and  I  reckoned  his  craziness  to  have  been  a 
consequence  of  that  injury,  though  to  be  sure,  his  mind,  as  we 
would  say  at  sea,  had  been  launched  with  a  list.  But  he  was 
dead,  and  I  was  alone  in  the  brig  with  a  treasure  of  half  a 
million  of  silver  to  carry  home,  and  with  a  crew  of  men  I  did 
not  trust 

No,  it  was  not  Bol's  question  that  had  startled  me.  The 
moment  I  came  on  deck,  after  leaving  the  dead  captain,  I 
realized  my  loneliness,  and  all  my  old  misgivings  stormed  in 


2^8  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

upon  me  till,  I  give  you  my  word,  I  stood  with  my  back  upon 
the  helm,  panting  as  after  a  run,  with  the  sudden  passion  of 
anxiety  that  uprose. 

Presently,  after  walking  and  reasoning  myself  into  something 
of  soberness,  I  thought  I  would  have  Yan  Bol  aft.  I  called  ; 
he  put  his  head  out  of  the  caboose  ;  I  beckoned,  and  he  ap- 
proached, thrusting  his  pipe  into  his  breeches  pocket.  It  was 
his  watch  below,  and  he  had  a  right  to  smoke  on  deck. 

"  The  captain  is  dead,"  said  I.  "  Let  us  talk  of  the  affairs  of 
the  brig." 

"  I  vhas  villing  to  talk,  but  you  valked  off,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"  I  walked  off  because  I  was  fresh  from  the  side  of  a  friend 
who  is  dead." 

"  I  vhas  sorry,  too.  He  vhas  a  goodt  sailor.  When  did  you 
bury  him  ? " 

"  To-morrow." 

"  He  vhas  steeched  up  by  me  himself.  I  makes  a  good  shob 
of  him  out  of  respect  to  you,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"What  change  is  to  come  about  ?  If  I  have  charge  of  the 
brig,  I  can't  keep  watch." 

"  If  you  vhas  not  in  sharge,  Mr.  Fielding,  der  brick  vhas  der 
Flying  Doytchman." 

"  You'll  be  chief  mate,  then.  Whom  can  you  trust  to  act  as 
second — to  keep  a  lookout,  I  mean  ?  " 

"  Plindfold  me,  und  der  man  I  touch  is  der  man  you  vant. 
Vere  der  eggs  vhas  all  ash  one  der  voorst  vhas  der  best." 

"Let  the  men  choose  for  themselves,  then." 

"  Dot  shall  be Und  vhat  vhas  our  port,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  " 

"  Our  port  ?     Our  port  ? — why — why "  I  staggered  in  my 

speech,  for,  now  that  Greaves  was  dead,  what  name  was  I  to 
give  the  place  we  were  bound  to  ? 

"  Vhas  she  to  be  Amsterdam  ?  " 

"  No.     You  and  I  will  talk  of  this  later  on." 

He  nodded  emphatically,  a  large  and  heavy  nod  of  appro- 
bation. 

He  left  me  after  we  had  been  talking  for  about  half  an  hour. 
I  then  heard  a  melancholy  noise  of  crying  in  the  cabin.  I  went 
below,  and  found  Galloon  at  Greaves'  door,  howling  dismally. 
I  told  Jimmy  to  let  tlie  dog  in,  and  resumed  my  walk  and  lonely 
lookout  on  deck.  Lord,  what  a  melancholy  day  was  that  in 
my  life  !  The  desolation  of  the  sea  was  in  it.  I  see  that  ocean 
now — its  hills  of  liquid  lead  pour  into  foam,  tlie  gray  shape  of 
an  albatross  hovers  off  the  quarter,  there  is  a  constant  flash  and 


A    SAILOR'S   WILL.  279 

leap  of  hissing  whiteness  at  the  bow,  and  the  black  running 
gear  is  curved  to  leeward  by  the  gale. 

I  looked  into  Greaves'  cabin  before  sitting  down  to  supper. 
Galloon  lay  upon  the  breast  of  the  dead  man  and  whined  dis- 
mally when  I  entered.  I  uncovered  the  face  to  make  sure  of 
the  death  in  it,  and  the  dog,  when  he  saw  his  master's  face, 
barked  low  and  strangely,  and  licked  the  cheek  of  the  dead.  I 
hid  the  face  once  more  and  went  out.  The  dog  would  not  fol- 
low. 

Little  passed  at  table  between  the  lady  Aurora  and  me. 
The  gloom  of  death  was  upon  us,  and  I  was  too  cold  and  sad 
at  heart,  too  oppressed  with  anxiety,  to  attempt  one  of  our 
broken  and  motioning  talks. 

At  eight  o'clock  Bol  came  aft  to  stitch  »up  the  body  in  can- 
vas. With  him  came  William  Galen,  a  freckled  countryman  of 
Bol's.  I  watched  the  brig  while  they  went  below  ;  very  dark 
was  the  night,  witli  a  sort  of  swarming  of  the  seas  to  the  vessel 
that  gave  her  the  most  uncomfortable  motion  I  ever  remember. 
But  the  wind  was  sinking,  and  by  this  hour  we  had  shaken  a 
reef  out  of  the  topsails  and  had  set  the  main  topgallant  sails, 
and  the  little  ship  rushed  along  wet  and  in  blackness  fore-and- 
aft,  her  head  now  something  to  the  south  of  east,  fair  for  the 
passage  of  the  Horn. 

Bol  and  his  mate  had  not  been  above  three  minutes  in  the 
cabin  when  I  heard  a  commotion  below — the  furious  barking 
of  a  dog,  deep  roars,  and  thunderous  shouts  and  Dutch  oaths. 
I  rushed  into  the  cabin,  crying  to  the  sailors  not  to  hurt  the 
poor  beast. 

"  She  has  tore  mine  breek,"  shouted  Bol,  "  und  bitten  Galen 
to  der  bone  of  her  thumb." 

I  bade  them  stand  out  of  sight,  and  Jimmy  and  I  went  in  ; 
but  the  dog  was  not  to  be  coaxed  away  from  his  master.  There 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  smother  and  carry  him  out  in  a 
blanket,  and  let  him  loose  in  an  adjacent  berth.  The  struggle 
with  the  beast  capsized  my  stomach.  He  had  crouched  upon 
the  dead  body,  and  our  catching  at  him  and  smothering  him, 
and  dragging  him  out  of  the  bunk  in  a  blanket,  had  given  a 
horrid  semblance  of  life  to  the  poor  remains.  The  half-closed 
eyes  seemed  to  plead  for  repose,  and,  in  the  dance  of  the  lamp- 
light, the  pale  lips  stirred,  and,  by  stirring,  entreated. 

"  Now  for  a  neat  shob,"  said  Bol. 

I  went  out  sick,  and  was  some  time  on  deck  ere  I  rallied. 
By  and  by  Bol  and  his  mate  came  up,  and  the  boatswain  said  : 


28o  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"  She  vhas  all  right  now.  How  many  men  vhas  dis  dot  I 
make  up  for  der  last  heaf  ? " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  I. 

"  Veil,  only  dwenty-dwo.  I  steech  opp  half  a  leedle  ship's 
company  mit  cholera.  Dere  vhas  fifteen  all  toldt.  Sefen  diedt. 
I  steech  'em  opp.  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Fielding,  vhen  dot  shob 
vhas  ofer  I  feels  like  drinkin'." 

"  Vhas  he  to  be  all  night  below  ?  "  said  Galen. 

"  Yaw,"  said  I. 

"  Aboot  der  vatches,  Mr.  Fielding  ?"  exclaimed  Bol. 

"  Let  that  matter  stand  till  we  bury  the  captain." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir.     Galen  is  der  man,  I  belief." 

"  She  vhas  villing,"  said  Galen. 

I  left  the  deck  for  a  few  minutes  to  view  the  body  of  my 
poor  friend  in  his  sea-shroud.  Miss  Aurora  sat  at  the  table. 
She  drummed  with  her  brilliant  fingers,  and  her  head  rested  on 
her  left  hand.  Her  face  was  unusually  pale  ;  her  eyes  large, 
alarmed,  and  fiery,  and  blacker,  owing  to  her  pallor,  than  they 
commonly  showed. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  I,  conceiving  that  something  was  wrong 
with  her. 

"  Ave  Maria,  hark  !  "  cried  she. 

I  heard  Galloon  whining  and  complaining.  Never  did  a 
more  melancholy,  depressing,  heart-subduing  noise  thread  the 
conflicting  uproar  of  a  ship  in  labor.  I  at  once  let  Galloon 
into  the  captain's  cabin,  and  paused  a  minute  to  view  the 
shrouded  figure  upon  which  the  dog  had  sprung  ;  and  I  re- 
member thinking  to  myself  :  "  Great  is  tlie  difference  between 
the  dead  at  sea  and  the  dead  ashore.  At  sea  the  dead  man 
cannot  be  tyrannous;  but  ashore,  how  does  he  serve  his  relatives 
and  the  world  which  he  leaves  behind  ?  A  dismal  funeral 
bell  is  rung  for  him,  and  the  spirits  of  a  whole  district  are  de- 
jected— the  spirits  of  a  wide  district  that  may  never  have  his 
name,  or  that,  very  well  knowing  his  name,  values  not  his  loss 
at  the  paring  of  a  finger  nail,  are  sunk  because  of  that  dreadful 
knell.  He  obliges  his  survivors  to  draw  down  the  blinds  of  the 
house  in  which  he  expires,  and,  for  the  inside  of  a  week,  they 
sit  in  gloom,  a  sort  of  pariahs,  coming  and  going  with  fugitive 
swiftness,  miserable  all,  until  it  is  convenient  to  him  to  be 
buried.  He  defrauds  his  next  of  kin  of  good  money  by  the 
obligation  of  a  solemn  and  expensive  funeral.  He  tyrannically 
robs  his  relatives  by  obliging  them  to  put  up  a  memorial  to  him. 
But  at  sea  ?     A  piece  of  canvas  and  a  twenty-four  pound  shot ; 


A    SAILOR'S   WILL.  281 

a  little  hole  in  the  water,  which  is  gone  ere  the  eye  can  behold 
it  !     The  dead  cannot  be  tyrannous  at  sea." 

"  Senor  Fielding,"  said  my  lady  Aurora,  rising  and  holding 
my  arm  as  I  was  about  to  pass,  "  I  cannot  rest  down  here  with 
the  dead." 

She  did  not  thus  speak,  but  this  was  my  interpretation  of  her 
words  and  signs.  I  regarded  her  and  considered.  Where 
could  she  lie,  if  not  in  the  cabin  ?  This,  for  her,  was  a  miser- 
able, horrible  time  ;  in  as  wild  a  passage  of  shipwreck  and  ad- 
venture as  ever  woman  lived  through,  and  my  heart  pitied  her. 
It  mattered  not  when  the  captaiff  should  be  buried  ;  and, 
meeting  her  eyes  again,  and  beholding  the  superstition  and 
fear  in  them,  I  looked  up  at  the  clock,  that  showed  the  hour 
to  be  a  little  after  ten,  and,  holding  up  my  hands  and  afterward 
two  fingers,  I  said,  "  Doce  de  la  noche — twelve  of  the  night ;  " 
and,  pointing  and  signing,  gave  her  to  know  that  at  midnight 
we  would  bury  the  captain. 

She  looked  at  me  gratefully, 

"  I  must  go,"  said  I. 

"  Stop — oh,  stop  a  minute  ! "  she  exclaimed  in  English,  and 
went  to  her  berth,  looking  fearfully  toward  the  door  of  the 
captain's  cabin  as  she  made  her  way,  clinging  and  moving 
slowly,  for  very  fierce  and  sharp  at  times  was  thejumpof  the  deck. 

Strange,  thought  I,  that  the  flight  of  a  soul  should  make  a 
terror  of  the  shell  it  quits  !  It  would  be  the  same  with  that 
fine-eyed  woman,  with  her  aves  and  crossings.  She  dies  ;  and 
the  caballero  on  his  knees  at  her  feet,  the  gallant  cavalier  who 
has  courage  enough  for  the  holding  of  her  sweetness  and  her 
perfections  to  his  heart  while  her  charms  live,  springs  to  his 
legs,  fetches  a  wide  compass  to  avoid  the  corpse,  and  sooner 
than  sleep  a  night  beside  the  body  would  go  to  a  lunatic  asylum 
for  the  rest  of  his  days. 

She  came  out  of  her  berth  clothed  for  the  deck,  wrapped  up 
in  her  own  comfortable  slop-chest  manufactures,  but  half  an 
hour  of  the  cold  and  blackness  above  sufficed  ;  she  went  below 
again  and  sat  under  the  clock  waiting  for  midnight.  I  chose 
twelve  because  all  hands  would  be  astir  at  that  hour.  At 
twelve  the  starboard  watch  went  below  ;  Yan  Bol  would  come 
aft,  and  then  we'd  bury  the  dead.  Meanwhile  I  ordered  a 
couple  of  the  seamen  in  my  watch  to  load  the  four  nine- 
pounder  carronades,  that  we  might  dispatch  Greaves  with  a 
sailor's  honors  to  his  bed  of  ooze.  Lanterns  were  lighted  and 
hung  in  the  gangway  in  readiness. 


282  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

In  those  times  the  burial  at  sea,  in  such  craft  as  the  Black 
Watch,  was  a  simple  affair.  Whether  it  was  the  captain  at  the 
top  or  the  cabin  boy  at  the  bottom,  it  mattered  not ;  it  was 
just  a  plain,  respectful  launch  over  the  rail,  no  prayers,  a  sail  at 
the  mast,  and  tlaere  was  an  end.  We  had  no  book  containing 
the  burial  service  aboard.  Few  merchantmen  went  to  sea  with 
such  things.  I  thought  over  a  prayer  or  two  as  I  walked  the 
deck,  meaning  that  the  petition  of  a  brother-sailor's  heart 
should  attend  the  launch  of  the  canvassed  figure  ;  in  which, 
and  in  many  other  thoughts  the  time  slipped  by  ;  the  lady 
Aurora  all  the  while  sitting  below  under  the  clock,  waiting  for 
midnight,  often  lifting  her  black  alarmed  eyes  to  the  skylight, 
and  often  looking  around  her  with  a  slow  motion  of  her  head, 
and  at  long  intervals  crossing  herself.  This  picture  of  her  the 
frame  of  the  skylight  gave  me.  The  glass  was  bright  and  the 
light  of  the  lamp  strong. 

Eight  bells  were  struck,  and  presently  the  shapeless  bulk  of 
Bol  came  through  the  lantern-light  upon  the  main-deck.  It 
was  the  blackest  hour  of  a  black  night.  Even  the  foam,  lifting 
and  sinking  alongside  in  sheets,  scarcely  showed.  We  had 
made  a  fair  wind  with  a  shift  of  helm  at  eight  in  the  evening, 
and  were  bruising  and  rolling  through  it  at  about  nine  knots, 
with  a  broad,  dim,  spectral  glare  under  the  stern. 

"Is  that  you,  Bol?" 

"  He  vhas,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"  I  propose  to  bury  my  poor  friend  at  once.  The  lady  can- 
not rest,  with  the  body  below.  It  will  be  a  kindness  to  her,  to 
all  of  us  may  be,  and  no  wrong  to  him.  Nay,  God  forbid — if 
I  believed  it  hurried — but  a  few  hours  more  or  less  can  signify 
nothing." 

"  Noting.     Der  crew-^vhas  pleased  too." 

*'  Well,  get  the  body  up — with  all  reverence,  Bol ;  you  know 
what  to  do," 

I  called  to  Jimmy  to  smother  Galloon  as  before  and  stow 
him  out  of  the  road  of  the  men  till  the  body  was  on  deck,  and 
then  I  stationed  Joseph  Street  and  Isaac  Travers  at  the 
carronades,  to  discharge  them  when  the  body  left  the  plank. 
In  ten  minutes  they  brought  him  up  ;  four  carried  him,  and 
one  was  Bol.  The  senorita  came  on  deck,  and  holding  by  my 
arm  to  steady  herself,  spoke  to  me.  I  said  "  yonder,"  and  she 
went  into  the  light  cast  by  the  lanterns  on  the  lee  side  of  the 
deck,  and  stood  with  her  hand  upon  a  rope. 

They  carried   the  body  to  the   gangway  where  the  lanterns 


A    SAILOR'S    WILL.  283 

were,  and  I  went  with  them  and  they  put  one  end  of  the  plank 
on  the  top  of  the  rail  and  two  of  them  held  the  other  end, 
ready  to  tilt  it.  I  think  all  the  seamen  had  drawn  together  to 
view  this  midnight  burial.  Antonio  and  Jorge  were  close  to  a 
lantern.  They  sometimes  crossed  themselves,  and  their  eyes 
gleamed  and  restlessly  rolled.  They  seemed  heartily  frightened. 
The  others  stood  stolid  and  staring,  some  in  shadow,  some 
touched  by  the  lantern  beams.  All  hands  bared  their  heads 
when  the  corpse  came  to  the  gangway. 

Had  this  funeral  happened  in  daylight  I  should  have 
ordered  the  topsail  to  be  backed.  I  agree  with  those  who 
hold  that  the  ship's  way  should  be  stopped  when  the  body  is 
launched.  It  would  have  been,  however,  but  the  idlest  of  cer- 
emonies to  back  the  topsail  in  this  deep  midnight  hour.  There 
was  besides  a  large  sea  running,  the  fresh  wind  was  off  the 
quarter,  and  the  brig  would  have  needed  a  shift  of  the  helm 
to  have  got  an  effectual  stand  out  of  her  backed  canvas. 

Cold,  oh  how  bitterly  cold  did  that  night  grow  on  a  sudden 
with  the  presence  of  that  body,  pale  on  its  plank  in  the  lantern 
light !  A  wilder  cry  sounded  in  the  wind,  a  deeper  dye  en- 
tered the  darkness,  I  prayed  aloud  briefly,  but  not  for  the 
hearing  of  the  men  :  the  hiss  of  the  sweeping  water  alongside 
drowned  my  voice. 
"  Launch  !  "  I  cried. 

As  the  canvas  figure  fled  like  a  wreath  of  white  smoke  from 
the  rail  a  sunbright  flash  of  fire  threw  out  the  whole  brig  :  the 
roar  of  a  gun  followed. 

At  that  instant — at  the  instant  of  the  explosion   of  the  car- 
ronade — and  while  the  two  fellows  who  had  tilted  the  body 
paused  for  a  moment  or  two,  grasping  the  end  of  the  plank,  a 
dark  form   seemed  to  spring   from   the  deck  at  my   feet  ;    it 
gained  the  plank  in  a  bound,  and  went  overboard. 
"  Der  dok  !  "  roared  one  of  the  Dutchmen. 
The  second  gun  was  exploded  with  a  deafening  roar. 
"  Was  that  Galloon  ?  "  I  shouted. 
"  It  was,  sir,"  answered  two  or  three  voices. 
"Hold  your  hand,"  I  bawled  to  the  fellow  at  the  third  car- 
ronade. 

I  sprang  on  to  the  rail  to  look  over.  No  sanity  in  that,  for 
what  was  there  to  see,  what  did  I  expect  to  see  ?  We  were 
going  at  nine  knots  an  hour  :  the  spread  of  yeast  on  either 
hand  of  us  was  a  wild  and  roaring  race  that  throbbed  out  of 
sight  in  the  darkness  abeam  within  abiscuit's  toss,  and  that  fled 


284  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

and  vanished  into  the  darkness  abaft,  within  the  span  of  the 
brig's  main-deck. 

''  Are  you  sure  it  was  the  dog  ?  "  I  cried  from  the  rail. 

"Yes,  sir  ;  yes,  sir,  it  was  the  dog — it  was  Galloon,"  was  the 
answer. 

"  It  was  the  dog,"  cried  Miss  Aurora,  coming  close  to  me. 

"Oh,  poor  Galloon  !  "  I  was  struck  to  the  heart.  For  some 
moments  I  stood  motionless,  staring  into  the  blackness,  while 
the  brig  stormed  onward,  rolling  and  foaming  through  the 
night.  Was  there  nothing  to  be  done  ?  Nothing,  I  vow  to 
God.  Perilous  it  might  have  been  to  bring  the  brig  to  the 
wind  in  that  hollow  sea  :  but  to  save  Galloon,  who  had  saved 
my  life,  I  would  have  risked  the  brig,  the  treasure  in 
her,  nay,  the  lives  within  her,  so  wild  was  I  then.  But 
the  dog  could  not  have  been  rescued  without  lowering  a  boat, 
and  a  boat  stood  to  be  swung  and  smashed  into  staves  ere  a 
soul  entered  her  ;  and  consider  also  the  blackness  of  the  Cape 
Horn  night  that  lay  upon  the  ocean  ! 

"  Are  these  guns  to  be  fired,  sir  ?  " 

"  No.  Oh,  lads,  I  would  not  have  lost  that  dog  for  twenty- 
fold  my  share  of  the  money  below.  He  saved  my  life — he's  still 
swimming  out  there — he's  alive  out  there  and  may  live.  Where's 
Jimmy  ?" 

"  Blubbering  here,  sir, "  said  a  voice. 

A  couple  of  seamen  ran  him  into  the  lantern  light ;  I  could 
have  killed  him. 

"  Did  not  I  tell  you  to  stow  Galloon  away  ? " 

"So  I  did,  master." 

"  Why  is  he  perishing  out  yonder  then,  you  villain?" 

I  turned  my  back  and  walked  aft. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

AURORA  ENTERTAINS  US. 

I'll  not  swear  I  did  not  feel  the  loss  of  the  dog  more  than  I 
felt  the  death  of  Greaves.  Should  I  be  ashamed  to  own  it  ? 
The  captain's  death  I  had  long  expected  ;  it  came  without 
suddenness,  it  brought  no  astonishment.  But  the  loss  of 
Galloon  happened  in  a  breath.  He  was  here,  and  then  he  was 
gone.  He  had  gathered  a  human  significance  from  my  long 
association  with  him,  my  spoken  reveries  to  which  he  seemed  to 
listen,  loving  of  eye  and  patient.     For  days  and  nights  I  was 


AURORA    ENTERTAINS   US.  285 

haunted  by  the  thoughts  of  him,  swimming  round  and  round  in 
that  dark  sea.  He  swam  well,  and  I  say  that  it  was  long  an 
agony  to  think  of  him  struggling  out  in  that  foaming  water. 

The  lad  Jimmy  was  broken- hearted.  So  crushed  was  he 
that  I  had  no  heart  to  deal  with  him  for  indirectly  causing  the 
dog's  death.  For  days  he'd  snatch  minutes  at  a  time  to  stand 
at  the  rail  just  where  the  plank  had  rested,  just  where  Galloon 
had  sprung  overboard,  and  there  he'd  gaze  astern  with  his  face 
working  and  his  eyes  bubbling.  The  men  let  this  maudlin 
behavior  pass  without  jeering.  They  reckoned  him  half  an 
idiot.  Yet  the  chap's  grief  went  deej^.  He  was  alone  in  the 
world,  and  had  nothing  to  love.  Greaves  had  been  kind  to 
him,  but  he  could  not  love  the  captain  as  he  loved  the  captain's 
dog.  Galloon  had  been  his  friend.  Often  used  the  lad  to 
talk  to  him  as  a  negro  talks  to  a  monkey  or  a  pig.  They'd  lie 
together  on  deck,  and  had  slept  together,  and  now  the  dog  was 
gone  the  boy's  heart  ached.  He  looked  around  him  :  there 
was  no  friend  ;  he  sent  his  fancies  ashore  and  found  himself 
alone  there. 

On  the  morning  following  Greaves'  funeral  I  took  possession 
of  his  cabin.  I  spent  a  couple  of  hours  in  overhauling  his  papers, 
for  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  believe  that  he  had  been  with- 
out a  relative  in  the  world,  Tulp  excepted.  I  could  not  realize 
such  a  tiling  as  a  man  without  a  relation  in  the  whole  blessed 
wide  world.  Yet  I  found  nothing  to  tell  me  that  Greaves  had 
not  been  alone.  I  carefully  stowed  his  papers  away  with  his 
clothes  and  other  effects.  To  whom  belonged  his  little  prop- 
erty— his  clothes,  his  books,  his  nautical  instruments,  and 
the  like,  together  with  a  bag  of  thirty  odd  guineas  and  a  quan- 
tity of  English  silver  ?     To  whom,  I  say  ?     To  Tulp  ? 

I  found  nothing  to  connect  Greaves  with  a  home,  with  rela- 
tives, with  friends — no  miniature,  no  lock  of  hair,  no  memorial 
of  ribbon  or  bauble.  Never  once  had  he  hinted  at  any  love 
passage.  He'd  speak  of  woman  ^ith  coldness,  though  with  re- 
spect, as  the  child  of  a  woman.  Had  you  walked  him  through 
King  Solomon's  seraglio  he'd  have  seen  nothing  worth  choosing. 
Well,  the  yeast  that  had  hissed  to  the  plunge  of  his  shape  was 
his  tombstone.  He  was  bred  a  sailor,  he  had  lived  the  life  of 
a  sailor,  and  was  now  gone  the  way  of  a  sailor ;  yea,  and  true 
even  in  death  was  he  unto  the  traditions  of  the  sailor — for  he 
had  received  the  last  toss,  the  sea  had  swallowed  him  up,  and 
no  man  could  swear  that  his  name  was  as  he  had  styled  him- 
self, nor  affirm  with  conviction  whose  son  he  was. 


286  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

When  I  had  made  an  end  with  the  captain's  papers  and  effects 
I  put  on  my  cap,  buttoned  up  my  pea-coat,  and  went  on  deck. 
It  was  blowing  a  strong,  fair  wind.  The  brig  still  wore  the 
canvas  she  had  carried  throughout  the  night.  The  sea  ran 
high,  it  was  much  freckled  with  foam,  and  its  frothing  brows 
shone  out  like  a  hard  light  against  the  cold  dark-green  vapor 
to  windward. 

Bol  paced  the  deck,  thickly  clothed.  He  wore  great  boots, 
had  a  heavy  fur  cap  on,  and  a  fathom  of  shawl  was  coiled  round 
his  immensely  thick  throat.  He  fr  led  the  picture  of  that  pitch- 
ing and  storming  brig  as  the  bng  fitted  the  picture  of  that 
swollen  and  foaming  sea.  There  was  no  sun.  The  dark  clouds 
rushed  rapidly  across  the  sky  ;  they  were  of  the  soft  blackness 
of  the  snow  cloud  ;  the  bands  of  topsails,  the  square  of  the  top- 
gallant sail,  of  a  light  sick  as  the  gleam  of  misty  moonshine,  fled 
from  side  to  side  athwart  the  flying  sky  of  shadow.  The  sea 
stood  up  in  walls  of  ivory  to  every  plunge  of  the  bows — I  never 
before  saw  foam  look  so  solid.  Where  the  bubble  and  foam- 
bell  of  it  were  too  remote  for  the  eye,  there  every  ridge  was  like 
a  cliff  of  marble. 

Bol  appeared  surprised  to  see  me.  He  supposed  I  was 
turned  in. 

"  This  is  a  wind  to  clap  Staten  Island  in  our  wake." 

"  Potsblitz  !  as  der  Shermons  say,  dere  vhas  veight  in  dese 
seas  too." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  live  aft  ?  " 

"  In  der  landt  of  spoons  ?  "  said  he,  with  a  smile  wrinkling 
his  face  till  he  was  scarcely  the  same  man. 

"  Yaw.  There  is  a  cabin  and  bunk  for  your  mattress.  You 
are  mate — first  mate,  entitled  to  live  aft." 

"  I  shtops  vhere  I  vhas,  Mr.  Fielding.     I  vhas  no  mate." 

"  As  much  mate  as  I  was." 

"  Veil,  dot  might  be,"  said  he  ;  then  added,  "  No,  you  vhas 
mate  in  your  last  ship.     I  am  bos'en.       I  belongs  forwardt." 

"  I  want  a  second  mate.     Send  the  men  aft,  will  you." 

He  went  into  the  waist  and  put  his  pipe  to  his  lips.  His  roar 
was  like  the  voice  of  a  giant  singing  the  tune  of  the  wind  in  the 
rigging.  The  men  knocked  off  the  several  jobs  they  were  on 
and  came  aft. 

The  fellows  had  a  homely,  comfortable  appearance.  The 
slop-chest  had  supplied  the  vacancies  in  their  own  bags,  and 
they  were  clad  as  men  wlio  were  starting  on,  not  returning  from, 
a  long  voyage.     Their  health  was  good.     Some  were  fat,  all 


AURORA   ENTERTAINS   US.  287 

hearty.  I  scanned  them  swiftly  but  with  attention,  and  saw 
nothing  to  occasion  uneasiness  ;  and  I  believe  I  could  not  be 
mistaken,  for  of  all  living  beings  the  sailor  is  the  most  trans- 
parent in  his  moods  and  meanings.  A  few  I  have  known  who 
were  dark  and  subtle  ;  they  were  not  Englishmen,  neither  were 
they  Dutchmen.  The  English  sailor  gets  a  face  at  sea  that 
prohibits  the  concealment  of  feelings  and  passions,  and,  on 
board  the  merchant  ship,  he  will  look  the  thing  that  is  in  him. 

"  Am  I  captain  ?     Is  it  understood  ?  " 

"Ay,  captain,  of  course,"  exclaimed  Teach  after  a  pause,  as 
though  the  men  had  waited  for  one  of  them  to  act  as  spokes- 
man. "If  not  you,  who  ?  and  if  it's  who,  vhere  do  'ee  sling 
his  hammock  ?  Not  forrads.  All  the  larnin's  been  washed 
aft  onto'  that." 

"  Mr.  Yan  Bol  is  your  chief  mate." 

"  Ay,  Mr.  Yan  Bol  is  chief  mate.  Who  but  him  ?  "  said 
Teach. 

"  Now  choose  a  second  mate,  lads." 

"  Is  he  to  live  aft  ? "  said  Friend. 

"  That's  as  he  chooses." 

"  There'll  be  no  man  wants  to  live  aft,"  exclaimed  Street. 

"  I  will  live  aft,"  said  Antonio. 

"  Yaw,  towed  in  der  vake,  you  beastly  man,"  thundered  Bol. 
"  Dot  was  aft  for  der  likes  of  you." 

"I  will  live  aft,  senor,"  said  Antonio. 

"  Curse  your  impudence,  I'll  aft  ye.  Now,  look.  There 
are  four  Dutchmen  and  seven  Englishmen,  not  reckoning  two 
Spaniards." 

"  Don't  count  them  Johnnies,  sir,"  said  Travers. 

"  It  vhas  oudt  dey  go  mit  dem  soon,  I  allow,"  said  Hals,  the 
cook. 

Paying  no  attention  to  these  interruptions,  I  continued  : 

"A  Dutchman  is  already  mate.  If  I  choose  another  Dutch- 
man you  Englishmen  mayn't  like  it.     Now  then." 

"Choose,  sir,"  exclaimed  Call. 

"  I  choose  Galen,"  said  I. 

There  was  a  general  grin,  and  Friend  called  out  : 

"We're  satisfied." 

"Then  Galen  it  is,"  said  I.  "  Galen,  you  now  act  second. 
WiW  you  live  aft,  Galen  ? " 

"  May  I  pe  dommed  if  I  lifs  aft !  "  exclaimed  he,  with  a 
wide  grin  and  a  slow  wag  of  his  head. 

"  All  right  ;  tliat'll  do^  You  can  go  forward  ;  "  and  I  went 


288  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

below,  very  well  satisfied  with  the  Dutchmen's  refusal  to  live 
aft.  Not  for  my  own  sake  ;  indeed,  there  was  a  laugh  here 
and  there  to  be  got  out  of  the  ignorance  and  talk  and  strange 
English  of  Bol  and  of  Galen.  1  thought  of  my  lady  Aurora. 
How  would  she  enjoy  the  company  of  those  Dutchmen  at  table, 
the  society  of  those  heavy,  lumpish  forecastle  hands,  half- 
boors,  half-savages  ?  I  suppose  that  never  before  in  the  history 
of  marine  disaster  was  a  girl  situated  as  was  this  senorita.  Are 
you  who  read  this  a  girl  ?  Figure  yourself,  madam,  on  board 
a  little  ship  ;  you  are  scarcely  able  to  speak  the  tongue  of  the 
crew  ;  your  only  associate  is  a  rough  seaman,  your  sitting  room 
is  a  small,  old-fashioned  cabin,  your  bedroom  a  bit  of  a  hole 
up  in  a  corner,  lighted  by  an  eye  called  a  scuttle,  that  winks  at 
the  leaping  sea,  your  meals  the  pork  and  beef  of  the  ocean, 
your  diversions  the  fancies  that  come  out  of  the  running  hills 
of  water  of  the  gale,  out  of  the  silent,  swimming  surface  of  the 
calm.  Can  you  imagine  the  ceaseless  heaving  of  the  deck,  the 
long  days  of  the  crying  of  the  wind,  the  creaking  and  "strain- 
ing of  a  tumbling  timber-built  craft,  the  sullen  roar  of  smitten 
and  parted  waters,  the  indescribable  odors  of  the  hold  ? 

When  I  left  the  deck  that  day,  after  calling  the  men  aft  and 
choosing  Galen  to  act  as  second  mate,  on  stepping  below,  I 
found  the  lady  Ai^rora  leaning  against  the  door  of  the  cabin, 
with  her  arms  folded  upon  her  breast  and  her  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  deck.  She  did  not  immediately  see  me.  I  stood  viewing 
her.  She  was  attired  in  a  white  drill,  or  duck  dress  of  her  own 
making.  It  would  have  been  cold  wear  but  for  certain  hidden 
clothing  she  had  contrived  for  herself.  She  looked  a  fine  figure 
of  a  woman.  She  lifted  up  her  eyes,  released  her  breast  from 
the  embrace  of  her  arms,  and  extended  her  hand.  I 
brought  her  to  a  seat — it  was  what  she  wanted — and  sat  beside 
her. 

We  sat  together  for  near  an  hour,  because  we  both  had  some- 
thing to  say,  and  it  took  us  long  to  communicate  our  minds, 
though,  to  be  sure,  these  passages  of  laborious  intercourse  were 
never  teasing  or  fatiguing  to  me,  however  she  may  have  found 
them  ;  for  there  was  a  pleasure  not  hard  to  understand  in  the 
mere  watching  her  face  when  she  talked  or  signed  to  me.  Her 
expressions  were  rich  and  manifold  ;  her  eyes  darkened,  soft- 
ened, brightened,  shone  with  fire,  dimmed  as  with  tears,  like 
the  figure  of  a  star  in  the  sea  over  which  the  scattered  mists  of 
the  calm  night  are  floating. 

But  here  will  I  put  into  plain  English  the  words  and  signs  we 


AURORA    ENTERTAINS    US.  289 

exchanged  while  we  sat  together  at  this  time.  It  may  well 
come  to  it,  for  I  understood  her  and  I  know  what  myself  said. 
Thus,  then,  ran  this  conversation  : 

"  Senor  Fielding,  have  the  men  rebelled  ?" 

"  No,  why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"I  stepped  up  yonder  stairs  just  now  and  saw  you  talking  to 
the  men." 

"  It  is  true.  I  am  captain,  Bol  is  mate,  someone  must  be 
chosen  to  take  Bol's  place." 

But,  oh,  the  time  and  difficulty  to  make  her  understand 
this  ! 

"  I  am  very  sad  to-day,  Senor  Fielding.  The  death  of  the 
captain  makes  me  think  of  my  mother.  Most  blessed  and  very 
purest  Maria,  does  she  live  ?  Shall  we  meet  again  ?  Ay  me, 
ay  me,"  and  here  the  tears  stood  in  her  eye. 

"  Sefiorita,  this  is  what  I  wish  to  say  to  you.  I  have  pot  the 
fears  of  the  captain  who  is  dead.  If  we  meet  a  ship  of  your 
nation,  if  we  meet  a  ship  of  any  country  sailing  to  Spain,  or 
proceeding  to  a  port  in  South  America,  east  or  west,  I  will  put 
you  on  board  her  if  she  will  take  you." 

''  Gracias.     I  am  content  to  stop." 

"You  are  alone." 

"  It  is  true,  senor."     (Sigh.) 

"  There  are  few  comforts  for  you  in  this  ship." 

"  True,  true,  'tis  true.  Yet  could  I  be  content  if  I  knew  my 
mother  was  alive." 

"  If  you  are  content  I  am  glad.  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  a 
ship,  yet  I'll  do  so." 

"  No— I  will  go  home  in  the  Black  Watch:' 

"  I  admire  your  spirit.     You  have  borne  up  very  bravely." 

"  To  you  belongs  my  gratitude,  Senor  Fielding.  Through- 
out you  have  been  amiable  and  tender.  The  poor  captain 
liked  me  not.  Why  was  that  ?  "  and  here  she  bent  her  eyes 
upon  me  ;  their  expression  was  a  mixture  of  archness  and 
temper. 

"  He  was  in  pain,  was  a  little  crazy,  and  would  not  always 
be  sure  of  the  reasons  of  his  moods." 

"I  am  not  used  not  to  be  liked."  I  bowed  a  very  full 
acquiescence.  "He  was  not  as  you  are.  But  he  is  dead." 
Her  hand  flashed  as  she  swept  it  before  her  face,  dismissing 
the  subject  with  a  gesture.  "  Now  that  you  are  captain  you 
will  have  plenty  of  leisure." 

"  I  shall  have  time  to  spare." 


2()0  LIST,    YE  LAMDSMEM! 

"  Vaya!  Time  to  spare — and  yet  command  !  I  shall  want 
you  to  give  me  much  of  your  time." 

I  looked  at  her  eyes  and  laughed  when  I  gathered  her  mean- 
ing, and  answered  :  "  All  the  spare  time  I  have  shall  be  yours, 
seiiorita.  But  how  much  of  that  spare  time  will  it  take  to  make 
you  weary  of  my  face  and  voice  ?  " 

"  Qu^  disparate  !  [What  nonsense  !]  You  shall  teach  me 
English,  and  I  will  teach  you  Spanish." 

'' Biieno !  Yet  what  is  the  reason  of  your  desire  to  speak 
English  ?  " 

To  this  she  made  no  answer.  She  cast  her  eyes  down,  and 
her  face  took  a  demure  look. 

"It  is  a  rough  language." 

"  It  is  a  noble  language,  seiaor,"  said  she,  answering  with  her 
eyes  cast  down.  Suddenly  she  looked  up  :  the  leap  of  her 
glance  was  like  the  light  of  a  flash  of  fire  upon  her  face,  so 
swift  and  cunning  was  she  in  the  management  of  her  eyelids. 
"  Do  you  love  music  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  I  will  sing  to  you  when  it  is  calm,  and  when  you  can  hear 
my  voice." 

I  thanked  her  for  this  promise. 

"  Are  we  not  alone  ?  We  will  be  company  one  to  the  other. 
I  have  the  actress's  art,  and  can  recite,  and  when  you  know 
some  Spanish  I  will  speak  many  beautiful  and  majestic  lines  to 
you.     Have  you  playing-cards  ? " 

"  I  fear  not." 

"  Eso  me  soprende  mucho  !  Many  tiresome  hours  could  we 
have  killed  with  cards.     Can  you  dance  ?" 

"  All  sailors  can  dance." 

"  I  will  make  you  an  accomplished  cavalier.  I  will  teach 
you  to  tell  fortunes  after  the  manner  of  the  zingari,  and  you 
shall  teach  me  English,  and  give  me  your  company  until  I  tire, 
or  until  the  ship  calls  you  from  me." 

We  broke  off  here  that  I  might  fetch  my  quadrant,  for  it  was 
drawing  on  to  the  hour  of  noon.  Our  conversation  was  not  as 
I  have  set  it  down  ;  it  took  us  a  long  while  to  work  our  way 
through  the  above  ;  but  what  you  have  read  is  the  substance 
of  what  was  meant  and  by  our  methods  conveyed. 

I  went  on  deck  puzzled  and  tickled,  amused  and  astonished 
by  the  gay-spirited,  fine  woman  below.  Did  she  mean  to  make 
love  to  me  ?  Did  she  intend  that  I  should  make  love  to  her  ? 
What   would   my   teaching   her  English  and  her  teaching  me 


AURORA   ENTERTAINS   US.  291 

Spanish,  her  singing  to  me,  her  recital  of  swelling  Spanish 
rhymes,  her  gypsy  tricks,  and  the  rest  of  it  end  in — the  rest  of 
it,  I  say,  backed  by  her  impassioned  eyes,  the  many  arch  and 
moving  and  tender  and  fiery  expressions  of  countenance  she 
was  mistress  of,  her  excellent  person,  and  all  that  sort  of  sweet 
rhetoric  which  is  found,  the  poet  tells  you,  in  the  laughter  and 
tears,  the  smiles  and  gesticulations,  of  a  lady  after  the  pattern 
of  this  Spanish  maiden  ? 

I  took  my  quadrant  on  deck  ;  the  sun  did  not  show  himself, 
and  I  got  at  the  situation  of  the  brig  by  dead  reckoning.  The 
westerly  gale  blew  fresh  and  strong,  and  I  needed  to  keep  the 
vessel  under  the  tall  canvas  of  the  topgallant  sail  to  run  her 
free  of  the  huge  Horn  surge,  which  chased  us  as  though  to  the 
hurl  of  an  earthquake.  It  was  impossible  to  make  too  much  of 
such  a  wind  ;  at  any  moment  might  come  a  greasy  Horn  calm 
with  a  swell  like  a  land  of  hills  ;  to  be  swept  with  horrible  sud- 
denness by  a  black  outfly  right  ahead.  I  saw  no  ice  ;  the  hori- 
zon lay  open,  distant  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  head  of  a 
sea.  We  were  cutting  the  meridians  spankingly,  and  three  days 
of  such  sailing  would  enable  me  to  head  the  brig  northward 
for  England. 

And  very  nearly  three  days  of  such  sailing  did  we  get,  during 
which  nothing  noteworthy  happened,  for  the  plain  reason  that 
so  heavy  and  violent  were  the  motions  of  the  brig,  the  most 
seasoned  among  us  found  it  difificult  to  come  and  go.  Reliev- 
ing tackles  were  hooked  on  ;  two  hands  steered  day  and  night, 
and  a  third  was  always  near  in  readiness.  I  have  seen  the  gigantic 
feathering  curl  of  the  huge  sea  soar  on  either  hand  alongside  to 
half  the  height  of  the  foremast  and  fall  aboard  in  froth,  making 
it  all  sheer  dazzle,  like  snow  shone  on,  from  the  eyes  to  the 
main  rigging,  till  the  tilt  of  the  brig  aft,  courtesying  with  her 
bows  flat  as  a  spoon  upon  the  roaring  smother  of  the  on-rushing 
sea,  sent  the  water  in  a  cartaractal  sweep  over  the  head,  where 
it  blew  up  in  white  smoke  and  drove  away  as  though  we  were 
on  fire. 

This  was  a  sort  of  weather  to  keep  everything  very  quiet 
aboard.  Hals  cooked  with  difficulty  ;  he  scalded  himself,  broke 
dishes,  and  filled  the  caboose  with  Dutch  oaths.  The  cold  was 
bitter,  and  the  chief  work  of  the  crew  lay  in  keeping  themselves 
warm.  Yet  no  ice  formed  ;  no  hail  or  snow  ever  drove  in  the 
sudden  dark  squalls  which  burst  in  guns  of  hurricane  power 
out  of  the  gale  over  the  stern  ;  we  sighted  not  a  berg,  and  yet 
the  cold  was  frightful ;  the  wind  took  the  face  like  a  saw,  and 


292  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

you  felt  half  flayed  when  you  turned  your  back  to  it.  The  cold 
of  the  spray  made  its  drops  sting  like  lead,  and  it  was  as  though 
you  were  shot  through  the  head  to  be  struck  by  a  showering  of 
the  brine. 

Her  ladyship  kept  below.  She  saw  very  little  of  me  ;  in 
those  three  days  we  made  no  progress  in  English  and  Spanish. 
The  violent  upheavals  of  the  brig  frightened  her ;  then  did  her 
eyes  grow  large,  her  face  look  wild  ;  if  I  was  near  her  she'd 
grasp  me  and  hold  on  to  me  and  utter  many  exclamation^  in 
Spanish.  I'd  catch  myself  smiling  afterward  when  I  thought 
of  those  moments  ;  how  she  used  me  as  though  we  had  grown 
up,  boy  and  girl,  together,  never  timid  in  her  tricks  of  touch- 
ing me,  as  free  with  me  as  a  sister,  and  that's  about  it. 

We  were  in  longitude  d^^'^  or  64"  west  when  the  westerly  gale 
shifted  into  the  north,  and  the  wind  blew  in  a  moderate  breeze 
out  of  that  quarter.  The  cold  lessened  with  the  shift.  The 
sailors  moved  with  some  trifle  of  alacrity,  as  though  they  were 
thawing.  The  decks  dried,  we  shook  out  reefs,  made  sail, 
coiled  down  anew  fore-and-aft ;  the  smoke  blew  cheerily  from 
the  chimney  of  the  caboose,  and  with  taut  running  gear  and 
white  clothes  robing  her  to  the  topgallant  mastheads  the  brig 
renewed  her  comfortable,  homely  look. 

This  brought  us  to  the  afternoon  of  what  I  will  call  the  third 
day  of  the  gale.  I  had  eaten  some  supper,  talked  awhile  with 
my  lady,  visited  my  cabin,  and  returned  on  deck  after  an  ex- 
amination of  the  chart,  resolved  on  a  bit  more  of  easting  before 
changing  the  course. 

When  I  passed  through  the  companion  way  I  heard  Bol's 
voice.  He  and  Galen  stood  at  the  bulwarks  abreast  of  the 
hatch,  their  faces  to  the  sea,  and  they  conversed  in  Dutch, 
keeping  their  voices  down  and  talking  very  earnestly.  The 
large  swell  rolled  quietly  under  the  brig  ;  the  wind  silenced  the 
sails,  and  after  the  uproar  of  the  preceding  days  the  repose 
along  the  decks  and  up  aloft  was  almost  as  the  hush  of  a  tropic 
calm  upon  the  vessel. 

I  stepped  to  the  binnacle.  Teach,  who  was  at  the  wheel, 
cleared  his  throat  noisily  and  spat  over  the  taffrail.  The 
Dutchmen  looked,  and  Galen,  saying  something  sharp  and  quick 
in  Dutch,  walked  forward.  Bol  glanced  aloft  with  the  air  of  a 
man  in  search  of  work  for  his  watch  ;  I  walked  a  few  paces  his 
way,  and  he  approached  me. 

"  How  vhas  der  vetter  to  be,  sir?  " 

"  The  sky  is  high  and  hard,  and  the  sun  strikes   clear  fire 


AURORA   ENTERTAINS    US.  293 

into  the  west.  Look  at  the  edge  of  the  sea ;  it  sweeps  clean 
as  the  rim  of  a  new  dollar.     There  is  fine  weather  about." 

"Veil,  so  much  der  better,  Mr.  Fielding.  I  have  slept  in 
more  comfortable  fok'sles  dan  vhas  dis  of  der  Black  Vatch 
vhen  she  pitches  heavy — more  comfortable,  but  I  doan  say 
drier.  No  ;  der  toyfell  shall  not  pe  more  plack  dan  she  vhas 
bainted.  Dis  vhas  a  dry  brick,  und  dare  vhas  no  schmarter 
sailor  out  of  Amsterdam." 

*'  I  believe  you." 

He  looked  about  him  to  let  me  see  he  did  not  heed  the  brig 
the  less  for  talking.  I  was  willing  he  should  talk.  I  saw 
matter  in  his  huge  full  face,  and  guessed,  if  he  chattered,  he 
might  let  me  come  presently  at  what  had  passed  'tvvixt  him 
and  Galen. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  how  far  might  she  be  from  der  Horn  to  der 
Channel  ? " 

"  A  long  stride.  Would  you  have  it  as  the  crow  flies  ?  How 
many  hundreds  of  miles  will  the  zigzags  of  a  ship  tag  on  to  a 
straight-line  measurement  ? " 

"Yaw,  dot's  how  it  vhas.  No  man  at  sea  can  say  how  far 
she  vhas  from  home.  Der  Cape  of  Goodt  Hope,  Mr.  Fielding 
— dot,  now,  vhas  a  vast  great  roon  from  here  ?  " 

"  Yaw  ;  the  whole  width  of  the  South  Atlantic." 

"She  vhas  vide." 

"  111  teach  you  how  to  measure  distances  on  a  chart,  if  you 
like." 

"  Veil,  I  likes  to  know  ;  but  I  doan  believe  dot  I  recollects 
to-morrow  vhat  you  teaches  him  to-day.  Mr.  Fielding,  vhere 
vhas  Amsderdam  Island  ?  " 

"Amsderdam  Island?" 

"  Yaw.  Der  Doytch  fell  in  mit  her — veil,  call  it  a  hoondred 
year  ago." 

"  There  is  an  Amsterdam  Island  in  the  Indian  Ocean." 

"Dot  vhas  her." 

"What  of  it?" 

"  Nothing,  sir.  Galen  vhas  saying  how  der  Doytch  vhas 
everywhere  mit  der  names.  New  Holland,  Amsderdam  Island 
— look  how  dey  roon." 

"  True,"  said  I. 

"  Mind  your  luff,  my  ladt  !  "  he  called  in  thunder  to  Teach. 
"  How  vhas  her  headt  ?  " 

"  East  by  north,"  answered  Teach. 

"  East  she  vhas,  und  noting  off." 


294  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

He  upturned  his  face  to  the  canvas  with  an  expression  which 
let  me  see  that  certain  whale-Hke  thoughts  were  coming  up  to 
blow  from  the  dark  and  oozy  deep  of  his  mind. 

"  Oxcuse  me,  Mr.  Fielding— mit  regard  to  der  dollars.  You 
promised  a  leedle  vhile  ago  to  talk  mit  me  about  der  landing 
of  dot  silver  vhen  ve  arrives," 

"  What  do  you  want  to  know  ?  " 

"  Veil,  Mr.  Fielding,  it  vhas  like  dis.  All  handts  vould  like 
to  know  how  dey  vhas  to  be  baid  dere  shares.  If  der  money 
vhas  schmuggled  on  shore,  who  bays  me  und  der  men  ?  Dis 
vhas  your  peesiness  like  as  ours,  for  you  too  shall  ask  who  vhas 
to  bay  you  herself?" 

"  On  our  arrival  in  the  Downs,"  said  I,  willing  to  give  him 
the  information  he  desired,  pleased,  indeed,  that  he  should 
seek  it,  since  the  manner  of  his  question  gave  a  new  turn  to 
my  fancies  of  him,  "I  shall  communicate  with  Mynheer  Tulp 
and  await  his  instructions." 

"  Suppose  she  vhas  deadt? " 

"  I  will  suppose  nothing.  Tulp  is  alive  until  we  know  he  is 
dead  ;  and  when  we  know  that  he  is  dead  we  will  think  of 
what's  next  to  be  done." 

"  Veil,  dot's  straight-hitting.     I  like  her." 

"  You  shall  suppose  Tulp  alive.  He  will  come  on  wings 
from  the  city  of  Amsterdam  ;  and,  when  he  is  on  board,  every 
man  will  take  his  share  of  the  dollars  according  to  his  paper  of 
proportion.  Tulp  touches  not  one  dollar  until  he  pays  us  our 
share.  We  will  then  hold  him  to  carry  out  whatever  schemes 
he  prearranged  with  Captain  Greaves." 

'"  Veil,  dot  vhas  all  right ;  but,  Mr.  Fielding,  der  ship's  com- 
pany likes  to  know  if  dere  vhas  any  reesk  vhen  you  gets  her 
home  ?  " 

"Who  home?" 

"  Der  money.' 

"  Risk  ?     I  don't  understand." 

"  Veil,  dey  puts  it  as  she  might  pe  dis  vay.  Ve  vhas  in  der 
Downs.  A  boat  cooms  alongside,  und  somepody  climbps  on 
poardt  und  oxes, 'Vhat  vhas  your  cargo?'  'Dot  vhas  my 
peesiness,'  you  say.  '  Not  at  all,'  he  answers.  '  I  vhas  a 
King's  officer,  I  belongs  to  der  Revenue.'  How  vhas  it,  den, 
mit  her,  der  ship's  company  vould  like  to  know,  Mr,  Field- 
ing?" 

"  We  should  not  be  searched  for  cargo  in  the  Downs — for 
men,  perhaps  ;  but  who  would  meddle  with  the  cargo  ? " 


AURORA   ENTERTAINS    US.  295 

"  Ay;  but  how  vhas  you  to  know  dot  for  certain,  sir  ? " 

"  Let  us  arrive  in  the  Downs.  The  rest  will  be  easy.  Our 
difficulty  lies  in  getting  home.  We  are  still  fighting  the 
Yankees,  no  doubt." 

"Ay;  but  he  vhas  a  Doytchman,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"  I  hope  whoever  boards  us  will  believe  it,"  said  I,  with  a 
shrug  of  the  shoulders  ;  and,  catching  sight  at  that  instant  of  a 
dim,  yellow  spot  against  the  sky  across  the  round,  large  heads 
of  the  swell,  I  fetched  the  glass,  and  made  out  the  object  to  be 
a  ship  bound  westward.  I  watched  her  until  she  died  out  in 
the  red  air. 

Bol  drew  off  and  we  talked  no  more.  His  questions  and  re- 
marks had  struck  me  as  honest,  very  natural,  and  to  the  point, 
seeing  that  the  men  expected  him  to  speak  what  v/as  in  their 
minds,  and  that  their  united  stake  in  the  successful  finish  of 
this  adventure,  now  that  the  money  was  aboard,  was  consider- 
able. I  did  not  perhaps  much  relish  the  persistent  manner  in 
which  he  had  "  ]\Ir.  Fielding'd  "  me.  I  could  have  wished  him 
a  little  blunter.  When  Yan  Bol  gave  me  my  name  very  often, 
distrust  arose.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  nothing  in  his 
own  suggestions  nor  in  the  fears  of  the  crew  to  render  me  un- 
easy as  to  the  safe  disposal  of  the  cargo  of  silver,  should  I  be 
fortunate  enough  to  reach  the  Downs.  What  excuse  could  be 
invented  for  overhauling  a  ship's  cargo  while  she  lay  at  anchor 
in  those  waters  ?  You  look  for  the  wolves  of  the  Revenue  as 
you  warp  into  dock  ;  you  look  for  them  in  the  Pool  ;  but  I 
had  never  heard  of  them  in  the  Downs — that  is,  I  had  never 
heard  of  them  boarding  a  ship  there  to  seek  contraband 
matter. 

A  quiet  evening  came  down  upon  the  brig  :  the  stars  were  many 
and  glorious  ;  there  was  a  bright  moon,  and  the  temperature 
and  the  look  of  the  heavens  might  have  persuaded  me  we  were 
ten  degrees  further  north  than  where  we  were  rolling.  The  brig  was 
under  all  plain  sail.  The  wind  was  about  north,  a  moderate 
breeze,  and  the  vessel  pushed  her  way  softly  over  the  wide 
swell. 

I  brought  the  lady  Aurora  on  deck  for  a  walk,  when  the  sun 
had  been  sunk  about  half  an  hour.  All  hands  were  enjoying 
the  moonlight  and  the  quiet  weather.  They  paced  in  couples  ; 
they  came  together  in  groups  and  halted  for  a  yarn  ;  the  hum 
of  their  conversation  Avas  a  deep  and  eager  note  ;  but  all  the 
talk  was  subdued — I  caught  no  sudden  calls.  Now  and  again 
a  man  laughed,  and  there  was  a  frequent  lighting  of  pipes  by 


296  LIST,     YE   LANDSMEN ! 

the  flames  of  burning  rope-yarns.  The  brig  was  made  an  ivory 
carving  of  by  the  moon.  Every  plank  might  have  been  chiseled 
out  of  the  tusk  of  the  elephant.  Stars  of  silver  glittered  and 
swam  in  the  glass  of  the  skylight.  The  swell  came  along  like 
folds  of  ink,  but  as  every  shoulder  of  black  water  swung  into 
the  glory  of  the  moon's  wake  it  flashed  into  a  shining  hill,  and 
the  splendor  of  those  vast  shapes  was  the  more  wonderful  for 
the  blackness  out  of  which  they  rolled  and  the  blackness  in 
which  they  vanished. 

Miss  Aurora  walked  by  my  side  ;  presently  the  play  of  the 
deck  obliged  her  to  take  my  arm.  Galen  had  charge  ;  he 
stepped  to  leeward  out  of  the  road  of  our  weather  walk  and  lay 
against  the  rail  abreast  of  the  wheel.  The  weariness  of  the  sea 
was  in  that  man's  figure.  As  he  stood  there  or  leaned,  the 
mere  posture  only  of  the  clothes  and  the  fat  of  him  expressed 
with  extraordinary  force  the  sickening  monotony,  the  pro- 
found dullness  of  the  calling  of  the  sea  as  that  calling  was  in 
those  years.  The  iteration  of  the  ocean  line  ;  the  ceaseless 
groan  and  heave  of  the  timber  fabric  under  one's  foot ;  the 
eye-wearying  flight  of  the  sails  to  the  masthead  ;  the  weeks  and 
months  of  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again,  ocean  and  sky, 
darkness  and  light,  the  weeping  of  mist,  roar  of  wind,  the 
cold  of  the  dawn  ;  the  beef  and  the  pork,  the  pork  and  the 
beef — it  was  all  in  that  Dutchman's  figure. 

After  we  had  walked  the  deck  for  half  an  hour  the  senorita 
informed  me  that  she  felt  cold,  and  that  the  movements  of  the 
ship  made  her  legs  ache,  and  she  proposed  that  we  should  go 
below  and  that  I  should  give  her  a  lesson  in  English.  When  we 
had  entered  the  lighted  cabin  she  saw  in  my  face  that  I  was  in 
no  particular  humor  to  teach  her  English  just  then.  She  was 
quick  in  reading  me  :  this  had  come  about  through  much  of 
our  talk  having  been  carried  on  with  our  faces.  In  truth,  while 
I  had  walked  with  her  on  deck  my  thoughts  had  gone  to  Bol's 
questions  about  the  disposal  of  the  money,  and  my  spirits  had 
drooped  a  bit. 

But  her  ladyship  was  not  to  be  put  off ;  she  must  coax  me 
into  an  easy  mind,  and  then  no  doubt  I  would  give  her  a  lesson 
in  English.  She  removed  the  cap  she  had  contrived  out  of  the 
yield  of  the  slop-chest,  and  turned  herself  about  that  I  might 
help  to  take  off  the  heavy  pilot-cloth  jacket  which  she  had  like- 
wise cut  and  contrived  for  herself  as  you  have  heard.  When 
this  was  done  she  seated  herself  abreast  of  the  lamp,  and  laugh- 
ing, and  looking  at  me  with  sparkling  eyes,  she  made  me  under- 


AURORA    EN'TERTAINS    US.  297 

Stand  that  if  I  would   give  her  my  hand  she  would  tell  my 
fortune. 

I  did  not  much  like  to  give  her  my  hand  ;  it  was  coarse  and 
horny  with  the  toil  of  the  sea.  I  extended  the  palms  at  a  safe 
distance,  and  by  motions  informed  her  that  the  lines  of  the 
hand  had  been  worn  out — smoothed  to  the  quality  of  the  sole 
of  an  old  boot  by  many  years  of  pulling  and  hauling,  by  grasp- 
ing the  spokes  of  wheels,  by  the  fingering  of  canvas,  and  the  han- 
dling of  capstan  bars. 

"No,  no,"  she  cried,  "give  me  your  hand,  Senor  Fielding." 

So  I  went  round  the  table  and  sat  beside  her.  I  winced 
when  she  took  my  hand  ;  the  contrast  between  my  square- 
ended  fist  and  her  delicate  fingers  was  a  shock.  She  held  my 
hand  and  pored  upon  it.  The  skylight  was  shut,  and  Galen 
probably  thought  that  I  did  not  observe  him  looking  down  at 
us.  Holding  my  hand,  her  dark  and  shining  eyes  sometimes 
bent  upon  the  palm  of  it,  sometimes  lifted  full  of  archness  and 
quiet  mirth  to  my  face,  the  lady  Aurora  told  me  my  fortune. 
I  comprehended  but  little  of  what  she  said  ;  she  spoke  much 
in  Spanish,  motioned  with  one  arm — always  retaining  my  hand 
— viewed  me  with  a  face  that  was  forever  changing  its  ex- 
pression, and  occasionally  she  let  fall  certain  English  words. 
I  guessed  from  what  she  said  that  I  was  to  be  rich,  marry  a 
handsome  lady  without  money,  have  six  children,  and  live  to 
be  a  very  old  man. 

Jimmy  came  into  the  cabin  while  she  held  my  hand,  and 
gaped  at  us  from  the  bottom  of  the  companion  ladder.  I 
bade  him  put  wine,  biscuits,  and  the  material  for  grog  upon 
the  table  and  then  clear  out.  When  the  lady  was  done  with 
my  hand  she  went  to  her  berth  and  returned  with  a  log  book — 
a  new  volume  of  blank  leaves  headed  for  entries — which  I  had 
given  to  her  out  of  several  in  Greaves'  cabin. 

"  Now,  Senor  Fielding,"  said  she  in  English,  "you  shall  give 
me  a  lesson  ;  "  and,  sitting  down,  she  examined  the  point  of 
her  pencil  and  adjusted  herself  with  the  air  of  a  lady  who 
means  business. 

I  glanced  at  the  clock,  poured  out  a  glass  of  wine,  and 
placed  it  on  a  swing  tray  in  front  of  her,  mixed  myself  a 
tumbler  of  grog,  and  took  a  seat  over  against  her.  The  lesson 
consisted  of  dictation.  I'd  pronounce  a  sentence  deliberately  ; 
she'd  take  it  down  :  hand  me  the  book  ;  then  our  faces  would 
meet  across  the  table  over  the  book,  while  I  pointed  out  the 
blunders  in  spelling,  and  explained  the  meaning  of  such  words 


298  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

as  she  did  not  know.  She  had  filled  several  pages  of  the  book 
on  her  own  account,  and  some  pages  on  mine. 

The  romance  of  it  all  !  What  more  romantic  as  a  detail  of 
ocean  life  would  you  have  ?  Realize  that  little  moonlighted 
brig  rolling  over  the  black  heaven  of  the  sea,  Cape  Horn  not  far 
off,  the  Cross  and  the  Magellanic  dust  overhead,  nothing  in 
sight,  the  moon's  wake  coiling  in  hills  of  silver  under  her,  and 
in  the  heart  of  that  lonely  speck  of  brig  two  young  people, 
again  and  again  nearly  rubbing  cheeks  together  over  a  blank 
log  book  :  one  of  them  a  fine,  handsome  Spanish  woman,  with 
dark  eyes  of  fire  and  a  smile  that  was  like  light  with  its  swift 
disclosure  of  white  teeth,  and  a  beautiful  little  pale  yellow  hand 
that  shone  with  jewels  ;  and  the  other — and  the  other 

She  looked  at  the  clock,  and  started,  with  a  Spanish  exclama- 
tion, and  said,  "  I  will  sing.  You  have  been  good.  I  will  sing 
to  you."  All  this  she  said  in  English.  Then,  in  dumb  show, 
she  played  a  phantom  guitar,  gazing  at  me  with  one  of  those 
asking  looks  which  I  could  interpret  as  easily  as  I  took  sights. 
I  shook  my  head  to  her  signification  of  a  guitar,  and  played  on 
an  imaginary  fiddle  ;  on  which  she  nodded,  crying  with  vivac- 
ity in  Spanish,  "  It  Avill  do  !     It  will  do  !  " 

I  put  my  head  into  the  hatch  and  called  for  Jimmy.  Galen 
sent  the  name  forward  in  a  roar,  and  the  boy  arrived. 

"  Borrow  me  a  fiddle,"  said  I. 

When  he  returned  he  held  a  fiddle  and  a  fiddlestick  ;  but 
this  unusual  appeal  of  the  cabin  to  the  forecastle  had  roused 
curiosity,  and  a  number  of  the  men  followed  Jimmy  to  the 
quarter-deck.  I  heard  their  softened  footfalls,  and  caught  a 
glimpse  of  their  figures  as  they  stood  round  about  the  skylight, 
scarce  sensible  that  they  were  visible  through  the  black  glass. 
The  lady  took  the  fiddle  and  the  bow  from  the  lad,  who  with- 
drew. She  put  the  fiddle  to  her  neck,  tuned  it,  and  played  a 
short,  merry  air.  I  had  not  known  that  she  played  the  fiddle. 
I  guessed  she  had  asked  for  the  instrument  to  twang  an  accom- 
paniment upon.  She  played  a  second  sweet  and  merry  air  ; 
the  melody  was  full  of  beauty  and  humor.  Someone  overhead 
tapped  the  deck  in  time  to  it.  I  took  care  not  to  look  up, 
willing  that  the  fellows  should  listen,  though  they  had  no  busi- 
ness aft. 

"  How  do  you  like  that  ?  "  said  the  lady  in  Spanish. 

"  It  is  sweet  and  good.     Give  me  more." 

She  put  down  the  bow,  and,  laying  the  fiddle  across  her 
knees,  twanged  it.     She  kept  her  eyes  fastened  upon  me,  and, 


AURORA   ENTERTAINS    US.  299 

when  she  had  tweaked  the  fiddlestrings,  she  shrugged  her 
shoulders  and  laughed  ;  then,  before  the  laugh  had  fairly  left 
her  lips,  she  burst  into  song,  singing  with  that  clear,  full- 
throated  richness  of  voice  which  poor  Greaves  had  predicted 
her  the  possessor  of.  She  filled  the  cabin  with  her  song.  She 
would  have  filled  the  biggest  theater  in  Europe  with  it.  Her 
voice  was  thrilling  with  volume  and  power,  and  her  eyes  were 
full  of  a  gay  triumph  as  she  sang,  as  though  she  would  say, 
"  This  is  news  to  you,  my  friend." 

I  thought  her  spirit  the  most  remarkable  part  of  the  per- 
formance. Here  was  a  lady — a  young  and  handsome  woman, 
clearly  a  person  of  degree  in  her  own  country — amusing  a 
young,  rough  sailor  with  her  songs,  fiddling  to  him,  taking  les- 
sons in  English  from  him,  watching  him  with  shining  eyes,  as 
though  her  heart  was  as  charged  with  light  as  her  gaze.  Her 
voice,  her  face,  the  aroma  of  her  manner,  transformed  the 
plain,  grim  little  cabin  of  the  brig  into  a  brilliant  drawing  room, 
full  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  sweet  with  the  scent  of  flowers, 
gay  with  the  gleam  of  silk  and  jewel  and  epaulet.  Who,  while 
she  sang,  would  have  supposed  that  she  had  been  shipwrecked 
not  very  long  ago,  living,  with  small  hopes  of  deliverance,  upon 
a  desert  island,  in  company  with  a  couple  of  common,  low  sea- 
men ;  ignorant  whether  her  mother  was  alive  or  dead  ;  still 
many  thousands  of  miles  away  from  her  home — if  Madrid  was 
to  be  her  home  ;  with  twenty  hard  fortunes  before  her,  for  all 
she  knew  ? 

She  sang  me  three  songs,  and  all  hands,  as  I  knew  by  the 
shuffling  of  feet,  listened  above,  some  shouldering  warily  into 
the  companion  hatch  to  hear  well.  I  reckoned  slie  knew  she 
had  a  bigger  audience  than  I,  for  once  she  lifted  her  eyes  in 
the  pause  of  a  song  and  smiled  in  a  conscious  way. 

"Now  I  am  tired,"  said  she  in  English,  and  put  the  fiddle 
upon  the  table  with  capricious  quickness  of  movement.  "  Good- 
night, Senor  Fielding  :  "  and  she  gave  me  a  low,  but  somewhat 
haughty  bow,  and  went  to  her  cabin,  stepping  the  short  length 
of  the  deck  with  the  most  ftranslatable  carriage  in  life:  "/ 
have  amused  you,  I  have  condesceiiikd ;  but  I  am  always  the 
Seiiorita  Aurora  de  la  Cueva.     Vaya  !  " 


300  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

A    TRAGIC    SHIFT    OF    COURSE. 

All  went  well  with  us  through  the  month  of  February  and 
through  the  early  days  of  March  in  that  year  of  God,  1815,  until 
it  came  to  pass  that  we  arrived  in  the  latitude  45^  south,  and 
in  longitude  47^  west. 

I  was  very  hopeful  in  this  time.  The  crew  had  been  orderly, 
civil,  and  quick  ;  strong,  prosperous  winds  had  swept  us  round 
the  Horn  and  northward  ;  we  were  homeward  bound  ;  we 
were  putting  the  unfamiliar  stars  of  the  south  over  our  stern  ; 
already  some  were  gone,  and  some  wheeled  low.  I  walked  the 
deck  with  gladness,  and  knew  but  two  sorrows  :  that  Greaves 
was  not  at  my  side  to  share  in  the  rich  issue  of  his  own  dis- 
covery and  his  own  expedition,  and  that  my  poor,  faithful,  well- 
loved  Galloon  was  drowned. 

Little  wonder  that  my  heart  at  this  time  felt  light,  that  my 
spirits  sometimes  danced.  Let  me  but  bring  the  brig  to  a  safe 
anchorage  off  Deal,  and  I  might  hope — failing  frigates  and 
presses — that  my  business  was  done.  I  should  have  taken  a 
long  farewell  of  the  sea.  I  should  be  a  rich  man  ;  for  to  me  in 
those  days,  six  thousand  pounds  of  English  money  was  a  great 
sum — aye,  beyond  my  utmost  hopes  by  one  cipher  at'  least. 
Yes  ;  and  even  had  I  dreamt  of  six  hundred  pounds,  how  was  I 
to  earn  it  ?  Never  could  I  have  saved  so  much  money  out  of 
the  slender  wage  of  the  ocean.  Why,  let  me  even  knock  off 
another  cipher,  and  put  the  figure  at  sixty  pomids.  Do  many 
Jacks,  after  years  of  bitter  toil,  limp  ashore — curved  in  the 
back,  one-eyed,  maybe,  half-fingerless,  rotted  to  their  marrow 
with  the  beastly  food,  the  stinking  water  of  the  jolly  life  of  the 
deep,  rotted  to  the  soul  by  nameless  sins  and  the  slum-and- 
alley  seductions  of  a  hundred  ports — are  there  many  Jacks,  I 
ask,  whose  savings,  after  years  of  labor,  amount  to  sixty  pounds? 

There  is  an  irony  of  circumstance  at  sea  as  there  is  ashore  ; 
but  at  sea  this  sort  of  irony  is  bitterer  than  ashore,  because 
nothing  can  happen  at  sea  that  lacks  a  coloring,  more  or  less 
defined,  of  the  fearful  significance  of  life  or  death. 

In  proof  whereof  list,  ye  landsmen,  to  what  I  am  about  to 
relate. 

You  will  suppose  that  so  shrewd,  intelligent,  and  diligent  a 
lady  as  the  Senorita  Aurora  would  not  need  to  be  thrown  much 
in  the  company  of  an  Englishman,  would  not  need  to  be  long 


A-   TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF  COURSE.  30 1 

instructed  by  him,  would  not  need  to  spend  many  hours  in 
studying  for  herself,  before  she  acquired  a  very  respectable 
knowledge  of  the  English  tongue.  And  let  me  tell  you  that, 
by  this  time,  though  she  spoke  slowly,  with  many  pauses, 
though  she  wanted  many  words,  she  was  already  become  a  very 
good  listener  when  I  discoursed  in  my  own  speech.  How  long 
should  it  take  an  intelligent  Spanish  lady  to  learn  English — 
to  talk  it  freely  and  correctly?  I  don't  know.  My  lady 
Aurora  began  (in  questions)  the  study  of  the  language,  as  you 
may  remember,  in  the  beginning  of  January  ;  and  now,  in  these 
early  days  of  March,  she  understood  me  when  I  talked  to  her  ; 
when  I  talked  to  her  slowly  and  pronounced  my  words  care- 
fully, and  when  I  helped  her  with  a  sign  or  a  Spanish  word  here 
and  there. 

I'll  call  the  date  the  12th  of  March  :  it  was  a  Friday  ;  I 
sat  at  dinner  with  Madam  Aurora.  Dinner  ! — yet  I  must  give 
even  that  pleasant  name  to  the  midday  repast,  to  the  piece  of 
beef  in  whose  mahogany  texture  lurked  scurvy  enough  to  lay 
low  a  watch,  to  the  boiled  duff  and  the  several  messes  of  the 
caboose.  But  then  our  stock  of  poultry  was  growing  small  ; 
we  had  need  to  be  frugal ;  we  were  in  the  unhappy  condition 
of  not  daring,  or  not  choosing  if  you  will,  to  look  into  a  port 
for  the  replenishment  of  coops  and  casks. 

I  sat  with  her  ladyship,  and  we  ate  of  the  yield  of  the  Black 
Watclis  cabin  pantry.  The  day  was  fine;  the  sun  sparkled 
white  as  silver  upon  the  skylight.  The  royal  yards  were  aloft, 
and  the  brig  was  sailing  with  her  larboard  topmast  studding 
sail  out,  making  very  little  noise  as  she  went,  so  that  talking 
was  easy. 

Times  had  been  when  Miss  Aurora  questioned  me  about  the 
dollars  in  the  lazarette.  She  had  asked  me  for  the  name  of 
the  ship  they  came  from  :  I  had  answered  her.  La  Perfecia 
Casada.  She  had  asked  me  for  the  story  of  Greaves'  dis- 
covery, and  by  our  methods  of  communication  I  had  spun  her 
the  yarn.  When  I  had  spun  her  the  yarn,  she  informed  me 
that  she  had  heard  of  the  loss  of  a  Spanish  ship  called  La 
Perfecta  Casada,  with  all  hands,  as  it  was  supposed,  but  this 
said,  the  subject  dropped,  and  we  rarely  afterward  mentioned 
the  matter  of  the  treasure  in  the  hold. 

Now,  while  we  were  at  dinner  this  day,  we  talked  of  her 
shipwreck.  She  said  there  had  been  a  quantity  of  antique 
valuable  furniture  belonging  to  her  mother  on  board  ;  otherwise, 
saving  clothes  and  jewelry,  the  Senora  de  la  Cueva  had  era- 


302  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

barked  no  property  in  the  ship.  She  spoke  of  the  captain 
and  ofificers  of  the  vessel.  The  captain  was  a  worthless  sea- 
man, a  timid,  ill-tempered,  swearing  fellow,  a  native  of  the 
Manillas.  We  drifted  from  this  subject  of  the  wreck  to  La 
Perfecta  Casada.  Our  conversation  was  animated,  despite  the 
frequent  interruption  of  gesticulations,  the  many  hindrances  of 
words  unintelligible  through  their  pronunciation,  the  frequent 
pausings  for  the  needful  term.  She  requested  me  to  describe 
the  cave  in  which  the  Casada  lay.  I  fetched  paper  and  pencil, 
and  drew  it  for  her  as  best  I  could.  Then  she  asked  me  the 
value  of  the  treasure,  and  I  told  her  very  honestly  that  it  rose 
to  above  half  a  million  of  dollars  of  the  currency  of  her 
nation. 

"  Ave  Maria  !  "  cried  she,  "  what  wealth  to  discover  in  a  cave. 
It  is  like  a  tale  told  by  the  Arabs,  Santa  Maria  Purissima  ! 
What  a  treasure  for  a  mariner  of  the  orthodox  faith  to  dedi- 
cate to  the  Church  !  You  will  receive  a  handsome  portion,  I 
trust  ?  " 

"  I  will  receive  a  share,"  said  I. 

"  And  the  poor  Captain  Greaves — had  he  a  share  !  " 

"A  big  share." 

"  It  will  go  to  his  mother  ?  " 

"  He  had  no  relations.     It  will  go  to  his  Church." 

Her  eyes  sparkled.  "  My  Church  !  "  she  cried,  pressing  her 
forefinger  to  her  breast. 

"  Mine,"  said  I,  imitating  her  action  with  my  forefinger. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders,  looked  at  me  fixedly,  smiled, 
and  gave  me  several  nods  in  the  foreign  fashion. 

I  felt  no  reluctance  in  talking  to  her  about  the  treasure.  In- 
deed, I  had  never  sympathized  with  Greaves*  nervous  caution 
in  this  way.  It  was  not  as  if  he  and  I  alone  had  possessed  the 
secret  of  the  dollars  :  all  hands  knew  there  were  fifteen  tons  of 
minted  silver  in  the  lazarette.  What  on  earth  was  the  use  of  con- 
cealing the  fact  from  this  Spanish  Indy,  as  if  she  only  of  all  the 
souls  on  board  the  brig  was  to  be  feared  by  and  by  as  the 
intelligencer  ? 

I  was  in  high  spirits  that  day  :  the  sunshine  in  the  heavens 
was  upon  my  heart;  I  enjoyed  the  company  of  the  handsome 
lady  ;  I  found  a  growing  and  a  deepening  pleasure  in  viewing 
her  when  she  talked  ;  I  delighted  in  the  music  that  her  voice 
gave  to  her  English.  All  was  well  and  we  were  homeward 
bound.  I  had  a  mind  to  talk  of  my  dollars  and  my  prospects, 
and   whether  she   guessed  my  wish  or  not  she  helped  me   to 


A    TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF   COURSE.  303 

the  subject  by  asking   me  how  much  my  share  would  amount 
to. 

"Many  figures  in  dollars,"  said  I,  "and  in  British  gold  just 
a  little  fat  figure." 

"Shall  you  buy  a  ship  ?"  said  she,  smiling. 

"No,"  said  I,  looking  earnestly  at  her;  "  I  will  marry  a  wife 
and  settle  down." 

She  clapped  her  hands,  threw  her  head  back,  and  laughed 
aloud.  "  Que  disperate.  Cannot  you  make  a  better  use  of 
your  money  than  purchasing  a  wife  with  it?  Senor  Fielding, 
you  shall  buy  a  fine  ship  and  trade  to  the  Indies  and  grow  im- 
mensely rich.  Marry  !  Que  disperate."  She  threw  back  her 
head  again,  and  laughed  out. 

"  I'll  buy  no  ship,"  said  I.  "  I  will  marry  a  handsome  Avoman, 
and  live  happily  with  her  on  the  seashore.  She  and  I  will  go 
a-fishing  for  pleasure.  You  are  not  a  sailor  :  were  you  a  sailor, 
you  would  think  of  nothing  but  a  wife  and  a  home  of  your  own 
and  money  enough  for  meat,  tobacco,  and  the  rest." 

"  Your  wife,"  said  she,  "  shall  be  another  Perfecta  Casada  : 
she  shall  make  you  more  money  than  any  woman  can  bring 
you.  You'll  die  a  Catholic,  and  your  fortune  shall  build  a 
magnificent  cathedral  ;  "  and  now,  without  another  word,  she 
abruptly  rose,  made  me  a  low,  strange  bow,  as  though  forsooth 
we  had  met  for  the  first  time  in  our  brig  five  minutes  before, 
and  went  to  her  cabin. 

She  was  frequently  puzzling  me  in  this  way.  She'd  abandon 
herself,  so  to  speak  ;  be  all  charm,  naivete,  smiles,  and  gracious- 
ness,  then  abruptly  look  poniards  and  corkscrews,  and  with 
a  sweep  of  her  fine  figure  make  off.  Was  it  her  theory  of 
coquetry  ? 

I  went  on  deck  with  a  half  smile  in  my  thought  of  her  odd,  ab- 
rupt, capricious  withdrawal,  and  amused,  too,  with  thinking  of 
how  I  now  managed  to  make  out  a  clear  conversation  with  a  girl 
who,  a  few  weeks  before,  pointed  at  things  with  her  finger  and 
talked  to  me  with  her  eyes.  The  time  was  about  twenty  minutes 
before  two.  John  Wirtz  was  at  the  wheel.  Bol,  whose  watch 
it  was,  talked  with  Travers  and  Teach  in  the  gangway.  Travers 
and  Teach  were  in  Galen's  watch.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
them  aft  ;  further  aft,  I  mean,  than  that  they  had  aright  to  be, 
talking  with  Bol,  whose  business  it  was  to  keep  a  lookout. 
Galen  was  on  the  forecastle  pacing  to  and  fro,  under  the  yawn 
of  the  fore-course,  with  Henry  Call  and  James  Meehan  ; 
Friend  and  the  two  Spaniards  were  squatted  upon  a  sail  in  the 


304  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

waist,  stitching  at  it.  Both  watches  then  were  on  deck,  and 
all  hands  saving  Jim  Vinten,  the  cabin  boy,  visible. 

I  found  something  strange  in  this  :  yet  had  I  taken  time  to 
reflect  I  might  have  seen  that  the  strangeness  lay  rather  in  the 
bearing  of  the  men  than  in  the  circumstance  of  all  the  crew 
being  in  sight.  I  looked  aloft  :  every  cloth  was  domg  its 
work  ;  the  whiteness  of  the  sails  overflowed  the  boundaries  of 
the  bolt-ropes  with  light,  and  the  azure  of  the  sky  was  a  pale 
silver  against  the  edges  of  the  canvas.  The  foam  spitting  from 
the  nimble  thrust  of  the  cut-water  shot  by  fast  alongside  ;  the 
brig  was  sailing  well.  I  stood  with  my  hands  upon  one  of  the 
shrouds  of  the  main,  my  eyes  upon  the  sea  line  :  turning  a 
minute  or  two  later  I  saw  Yan  Bol  coming  to  me. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,"  said  he,  "  I  likes  to  have  a  quiet  talk  mit 
you." 

Travers  and  Teach  in  the  gangway  held  their  stations  look- 
ing at  us.  Galen  came  to  a  halt  on  the  forecastle  with  his  face 
aft ;  Friend  looked  at  us  with  his  needle  poised  ;  the  Span- 
iards went  on  stitching. 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"I  shpeak  for  all  handts.  Do  not  be  afraid,  Mr.  Fielding. 
She  vhas  all  right  and  every  man  vhas  good  friendts." 

"Afraid!"  said  I,  looking  at  him  steadily,  though  I  was 
conscious  that  the  blood  was  gone  out  of  my  cheeks.  "  I 
think  you  said  afraid!  " 

"  I  ox  pardon,  I  vhas " 

"  There  is  no  Dutchman  in  this  ship — there  is  no  Dutchman 
in  all  Holland  that  can  make  me  afraid.  Use  another  word 
and  bear  a  hand.  I  mean  to  get  an  hour's  sleep  this  after- 
noon." 

"  Dere  vhas  nothing  I  hope  to  stop  you  sleeping  soundtly  as 
long  as  you  please." 

"  What  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  ve  vants  the  brig's  course  altered." 

"  Ay,  indeed.     For  what  part  of  the  world  ?" 

"  I  hope  you  shall  not  sneer.  By  ter  tunder  of  Cott,  all 
handts  vhas  in  earnest." 

"  Dot  vhas  so,"  exclaimed  Wirtz  at  the  wheel,  in  his  deep 
voice. 

I  observed  that  Galen  had  come  aft  and  was  standing  with 
Travers  and  Teach  at  the  gangway,  within  easy  earshot  of  our 
voices  :  in  fact,  they  were  almost  abreast  of  us  t'other  side  of 
the  deck,  and  our  ship,  as  you  know,  was  a  little  one. 


A    TRAGIC   SHIFT  OF  COURSE.  3^5 

"  You  want  the  brig's  course  altered  ?     For  where  ? " 

"For  Amsterdam  Island." 

"  Yes,  that  island  in  the  Indian  Ocean  which  the  Dutch  dis- 
covered and  gave  a  name  to,  and  which  you  were  talking  about 
to  me  lately." 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  ve  vhas  all  good  friendts.  I  like  to  talk  mit 
you  as  a  mate  mit  his  captain.  Ve  vhas  respectful,  but,  by 
Cott,  ve  vhas  in  bloydy  earnest  also."  He  smote  the  palm  of 
his  left  hand  with  his  huge  right  fist  and  looked  round,  on  which 
Galen,  Teach,  Travers,  and  others  came  aft.  Friend  flung 
down  his  palm  and  needle  and  joined  the  group  ;  the  Spaniards 
rose  to  their  feet,  but  remained  where  they  were. 

I  knew  myself  pale.  I  was  startled — I  was  thunderstruck  ; 
down  to  this  instant  the  crew  had  given  me  no  hint  to  suspect 
their  willingness  to  work  the  brig  to  the  Channel.  I  fetched 
some  labored  breaths,  recollected  myself  with  a  prodigious 
effort  of  resolution,  and  after  looking  first  at  one  face  and  then 
at  another,  during  which  time  I  was  eyed  with  great  eagerness, 
with  here  and  there  the  hint  of  a  threat,  but  generally  with  coun- 
tenances not  wanting  in  respect,  I  exclaimed,  "  Who  will  tell  me 
what  it  is  you  want  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  speak,  Mr.  Bol  ?  "  said  Teach. 

"Shpeak,"  cried  Bol  in  his  voice  of  thunder. 

"  The  matter's  simple  as  countin'  your  toes,"  said  Teach, 
addressing  me.  "  There's  a  cargo  of  silver  down  in  the  laza- 
rette,  aint  there  ?  The  captain's  dead — him  it  rightly  belonged 
to  as  the  discoverer  of  it.  He's  dead,  and  us  men  are  agreed 
that  his  share — a  lump  we  allow — should  be  divided  among  all 
hands,  you  being  one  of  us." 

"Dot's  so,"  said  Bol. 

"  We  don't  want  no  blooming  fuss,"  continued  Teach  ;  "the 
job's  to  be  handled  so  that  it  shall  be  agreeable  to  all  concerned. 
Here's  the  brig,  and  the  money's  below." 

"Dot  vhas  so,"  said  Galen.  "  Dis  vhas  a  shob  over  vhich 
ve  all  shakes  hands." 

"If  we  carried  the  money  home,"  continued  Teach,  "what's 
going  to  happen  ?  Mr.  Tulp'll  claim  the  captain's  share  as 
well  as  his  own.  And  what's  to  be  his  own  ?  And  what's  to 
be  your'n,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  And  what's  to  be  our'n  ?  Tulp  'ud 
suck  egg  and  smash  the  shell  agin  our  faces.  Our  rights  goes 
hell's  own  length  beyond  the  measly  hundreds  that's  to  be  our 
fo'ksle  allowance  of  dollars." 

"  No  need  to  curse  and  swear,  Thomas,"  exclaimed  Friend. 


3o6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  Mr.  Fielding's  a-taking  of  it  all  in.  Give  him  time.  Before 
a  man  lets  go  he  sings  out.  We  haven't  sung  out.  I'm  for 
kindly  feelings  in  this  here  traverse." 

"The  shares  you  are  promised  along  with  your  wages,"  said 
I,  "should  satisfy  you.     I  will  see  that  every  man  is  paid." 

"  Vhat  vhas  your  share,  sir  ? "  said  Wirtz  at  the  wheel. 

"Aint  it  worth  naming?  "  said  Meelian  after  a  short  silence. 

Call  laughed. 

"  'Taint  as  if  you  was  here  through  Mr.  Tulp's  ordering," 
said  Teach. 

"  You  have  chosen  me  captain,"  said  I. 

"  The  brig  saved  your  life,''  exclaimed  Street  ;  "you  owes  us 
a  good  turn." 

"  Captain  you  are  and  captain  we  wishes  you  to  remain,"  said 
Teach. 

"  Dere  vhas  one  ting  dot  vhas  proper  you  should  recollect, 
Mr.  Fielding,"  said  Bol.  "  How  about  der  wars  dot  vhas  on  ? 
If  we  carries  der  treasure  oop  der  Atlantic  ve  stands  to  lose 
her.     Down  here  dere  vhas  peace  und  comfort." 

"  Are  not  our  heels  a  match  for  anything  that's  afloat?" 
said  I. 

"  Yaw,"  answered  Bol,  "  and  vhilst  ve  roon  a  shoe  comes  off ; 
den  vhere  vhas  ve  ?  Look  at  our  gompany.  Look  at  our 
goons." 

"  What's  your  scheme  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Is  it  for  me  to  speak  ?  "  said  Teach. 

"  Shpeak,  Thomas,"  cried  Bol. 

"  Our  scheme's  this,  sir.  We  want  you  to  carry  the  brig  to 
Amsterdam  Island,  where  we  mean  to  heave  the  brig  to, 
weather  allowing,  land  the  silver,  bury  it,  and  sail  away  for 
New  Holland." 

"Out  with  it  all,  Tom,"  said  Travers. 

"  There's  a  party  as  is  settled  at  Port  Jackson,"  continued 
Teach.  "  He's  a  relation  of  mine.  He'll  do  for  us  men  what 
Mr.  Tulp  did  for  Captain  Greaves  ;  if  this  brig's  to  be  given  up, 
he'll  find  us  a  schooner  or  some  such  craft.  We'll  fetch  the 
silver  in  her,  and  he'll  receive  it,  and  divide  it  among  us, 
making  a  share  for  himself.  His  share'll  be  what  our'n  is,  no 
more  nor  less.  That'll  be  right.  We  find  him  the  money  and 
he  finds  us  the  vessel,  and  it's  share  and  share  alike.  I  am  for 
fair  dealing.  Straight  was  straight  with  me  afore  I  went  to  sea  ; 
I  wor  straight  as  a  little  'un  ;  straight's  the  word  still ;  and  I 
han't  kinked  yet.     What  are  we  doing  ?     Robbing  any  man  of 


A    TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF  COURSE.  3° 7 

his  rights?"  cried  he,  looking  around  into  the  faces  of  the 
others.  "  I  say  no.  The  captain's  dead.  If  he  were  alive  his 
rights  'ud  carry  the  brig  home,  barring  events.  But  he's  dead  ; 
his  money  falls  into  shares  for  us  men  to  take  up — for  us  men 
and  you,  sir.  As  for  Mr.  Tulp — look  here.  Suppose  he  never 
hears  again  of  the  brig  ?  Is  this  a-going  to  break  any  man's 
heart?  How  is  he  to  know  that  we've  got  the  silver?  How 
is  he  to  know  Captain  Greaves'  yarn  warn't  a  lie  ?  What's 
his  venture  ?  Just  the  cost  of  the  hiring  of  this  brig.  Well, 
by  our  not  turning  up  we  save  him  in  wages.  That's  wrote 
off,  and  that  means  pounds  in  good  money.  The  brig  don't 
turn  up,  and  what  then  ;  she's  gone  to  the  bottom  ;  she's 
been  taken.  It'll  hentertain  Mr.  Tulp  when  he  aint  hard 
at  work  making  money,  to  guess  what's  become  of  us  ;  and 
how'll  our  mysterious  disappearance  leave  him  ?  Vy,  one  of 
the  richest  gents  in  the  city  o'  Amsterdam." 

Every  eye  v\'as  fastened  upon  my  face  while  Teach  addressed 
me.  The  fellows'  looks  were  eloquent  with  expectation  ihat  I 
should  be  instantly  convinced,  satisfied,  impressed,  eager  to 
execute  their  wishes.  Jimmy  was  staring  at  us  out  of  the  door 
of  the  caboose  and  I  called  to  him  : 

*'  Fetch  me  the  bag  of  charts  and  a  pair  of  compasses." 

He  brought  the  things.  I  found  a  chart  of  the  world — a 
track  chart. 

''  Spread  this  on  the  skylight,"  said  I,  giving  it  to  Teach. 
He  and  Travers  held  it  open  on  the  skylight.  "  Do  you  know 
the  situation  of  the  brig  at  this  moment  ?  "  said  I. 

The  men  drew  shouldering  round  me  to  look ;  Yan  Bol 
stooped  his  huge  form  and  ran  his  wide  and  heavy  face  over 
the  chart,  his  nose  within  an  inch  of  it  as  though  he  hunted  for 
a  flea.  Not  a  man  could  point  to,  nay,  not  a  man  had  the  least 
idea  of,  the  place  of  the  brig  on  the  chart. 

"  Here's  where  we  are  now,"  said  I,  "  and  here's  Amsterdam 
Island." 

They  huddled  yet  closer  in  a  hairy,  warm,  hard-breathing 
group  to  look  at  the  island. 

"  There  it  is,  and  here  are  we.  Can  you  collect  sea  distances 
by  looking  on  a  chart  ? " 

"No." 

"  Damn  your  ignorance.  It's  out  of  that  this  trouble's  come. 
Look,  you  Bol,  you  Dutchmen  who  are  the  cooks  of  this  devil's 
mess — look  how  I  take  this  pair  of  metal  legs  and  make  them 
walk — look — every  step  signifying  the  flight  of  a  ship  in  a  week 


3o8  .  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

of  prosperous  gales.  Look — peer  close — value  every  one  of 
these  lines  at  twenty  leagues  ;  count  them,  Bol,  count  them." 

"  She  vhas  some  vhays  off  ;  dot's  allowed,"  answered  Bol. 
"  But  dere  vhas  der  island,  und  dere  vhas  ve,  all  in  goodt 
time." 

"  Why  that  island  ?"  said  I,  stepping  back  from  the  chart  to 
command  the  men's  faces. 

"  Because  I  knows  her,"  answered  Galen.  "  I  vhas  off  her. 
Shi  vhas  an  uninhabited  island.  She  vhas  lofty,  mit  goodt 
hiding  ground.     She  vhas  never  visited," 

"  Dot's  vy,"  said  Bol. 

"  I'll  not  carry  you  there." 

"  Ye'll  turn  it  over,  sir,"  said  Friend. 

"  I'll  not  help  you  to  rob  Mr.  Tulp  of  his  share." 

"  Dere  vhas  no  robbery.  Ve  vhas  lost  at  sea,  mit  all  hands," 
said  Galen. 

"  I'll  sail  you  home  and,  if  you  choose,  will  give  you  my  bond 
to  pay  you  so  many  of  the  dollars  as  we'll  agree  to.  But  I'll 
not  take  you  to  Amsterdam  Island.     So  what  will  you  do? " 

"  What'U ji'w  do,  sir?  "  exclaimed  Teach. 

"  My  duty." 

"  Dot  vhas  not  even  half-way,"  said  Bol. 

I  called  to  Jimmy  to  restow  the  charts  and  bring  them  be- 
low, and  descended  the  companion  ladder.  I  was  alone,  and 
glad  to  be  alone.  The  looks  and  questions,  nay,  the  presence 
of  her  ladyship  would  have  been  intolerable  to  me  just  then. 
I  sat  down  at  the  table  and  thought,  then  jumped  up  and  paced 
the  cabin  like  a  madman.  It  had  come  about  as  I  had  many 
a  time  feared,  but  more  darkly  than  ever  my  imagination  had 
foreboded.  The  road  to  Amsterdam  Island  ran  through  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  degrees  of  longitude.  Suppose — an  incredible 
suppose  ! — an  average  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  a  day  ;  two 
months  then  in  making  the  island  !  and  afterward  ?  The  sil- 
ver was  to  be  landed  and  buried,  and  we  should  head  on  for 
Port  Jackson  in  New  Holland,  where  my  throat  would  be  cut 
if  the  spirit  of  murder  left  the  crew  a  hand  to  cut  my  throat 
withal. 

And  the  money  being  buried,  good-night  to  my  six — my 
seven  thousand  pounds — to  my  fine  prospects,  my  giving  up 
the  sea  forever,  and  settling"  down  ashore  with  a  wife.  Tulp  ? 
God  bless  you,  no.  It  was  not  of  Tulp  I  thought.  What  was 
he  to  me  ?  I  was  no  servant  of  his,  under  no  obligation  of 
fidelity  to  him.       It  was  the  six  thousand  pounds  which  ran  in 


A    TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF  COURSE.  3^9 

my  head  and  set  my  brains  boiling — the  six  thousand  and  the 
one  bequeathed  to  me  by  Greaves. 

I  paced  the  cabin  like  mad.  What  am  I  to  do  ?  How  was 
I  to  preserve  my  share  of  the  dollars  ?  There  were  eleven,  and 
with  me  twelve,  of  us  now  to  the  brig's  company  ;  the  men 
were  not  likely  to  count  Jimmy  and  the  two  Spaniards  as  part- 
ners. Teach — was  it  Teach? — talked  of  an  equal  division; 
that  would  work  out  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  man  ;  twenty 
thousand  ahead  of  my  present  share.  They'd  promise  me 
more,  I  daresay — offer  me  what  I  chose  to  take — Yes,  and 
knife  me,  or  drop  me  overboard  in  the  hour  of  the  coast  of 
New  Holland  heaving  into  sight. 

Nor  was  that  all  of  it  either  :  I  conceived  the  fifteen  tons  of 
silver  buried  in  the  island  of  New  Amsterdam  :  we  arrive  at 
Port  Jackson  :  Teach's  friend — think  now  of  the  respectability 
of  a  friend  of  Teach  ! — finds  a  little  schooner.  Would  the  fel- 
lows return  to  the  island  with  me  ?  or  would  they  pick  up  some 
cheap  ruffian  of  a  navigator,  leaving  me  to  wait  for  them  ? 

If  the  money  was  buried  my  share  was  gone  for  good,  my 
life  not  worth  a  hair  of  my  beard.    What  was  to  be  done  ? 

While  I  paced  the  cabin  I  had  observed  that  the  men  continued 
to  hang  about  the  skylight.  I  supposed  that  they  were  looking 
at  the  chart.  By  this  time  the  skylight  lay  clear  :  Jimmy  came 
below  with  the  bag  of  charts  and  the  pair  of  compasses  ;  I 
heard  the  voices  of  men  singing  out  in  pull-and-hauling  choruses, 
and  the  brig  heeled  over  a  little. 

There  hung  under  the  seat  that  Greaves  used  to  occupy  a 
tell-tale  compass  :  I  looked  at  it  and  found  the  brig's  course 
east  by  south.  I  immediately  went  on  deck  and  found  the 
yards  braced  forward  and  both  watches  hauling  down  the  lar- 
board studding  sail.  Bol  walked  the  quarter-deck  and  Galen 
was  shouting  orders  uom  the  forecastle. 

"  Who's  captain  here  ? "  said  I,  stepping  up  to  the  great  Dutch- 
man. 

"  You,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"  What  are  you  doing  with  the  brig  ?  " 

"  Heading  her  off  for  Amsterdam  Island." 

"  So.     Then  you  know  your  way  there  ?  " 

"  No,  sir.  Der  shart  explains  dot  der  island  vhas  in  der 
east :  so  east  it  vhas  mit  der  brig  till  ve  vhas  goodt  friendts, 
Mr.  Fielding,  und  shake  hands  und  agree.  And  maybe  he 
vhas  all  right  mit  you  now,  sir,"  he  added,  looking  at  me  out  of 
the  corner  of  his  little  eyes. 


3IO  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  I  Avant  time  to  consider,"  said  I,  realizing  my  extreme  help- 
lessness, and  by  that  realization  urged  more  than  half-way  to 
the  acceptance  of  my  fate,  whatever  it  might  prove,  without 
further  struggle. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,"  cried  Bol,  throwing  out  his  arms  and  ad- 
dressing me  in  that  posture,  "  vhat  vhas  it  how  he  vhas  mit 
der  brig  und  mit  Mynheer  Tulp  while  she  vhas  all  right  mit 
yoii  ?  Mindt,  I  doan  say  dot  if  der  captain  had  lif  dot  dere 
vhas  no  trouble.  Vhat  ?  "  he  shouted,  in  a  voice  of  thunder  : 
"  a  leedle  footy  sum  of  sixty  tousand  dollar  for  all  us  men  vhen 
Tulp  vhas  to  get  der  half  of  der  half  million  and  you  yourself, 
Mr.  Fielding,  maybe  vhas  to  take  but  a  leedle  less  dan  Captain 
Greaves  herself.  Vhas  it  right  ?  "  He  thumped  his  bosom. 
"  Vhas  she  a  beesiness  dot  vhas  good  ash  between  man  and 
man?"  He  thumped  his  bosom  again.  "Vhas  not  you  a 
sailor  ?  Vhas  not  der  sailor  gruelly  used  ?  Vhas  she  not  right 
to  stand  up  for  herself  when  der  shance  comes  ?  Mr.  Fielding, 
in  der  sight  of  der  crew,  gif  me  your  hand  und  shake  mit  me 
und  ve  vhas  der  happiest  of  families  from  dis  hour." 

"  I'll  not  give  you  my  hand.  I  want  time  to  think,"  His 
face  darkened.  I  continued  :  "  If  I  refuse  to  navigate  the  brig 
to  Amsterdam  Island  and  on  to  Port  Jackson,  what  then  ? " 

Wirtz,  who  was  at  the  wheel,  hearing  this,  called  out  in 
Dutch.  Yan  Bol  gazed  at  him  slowly,  then  leisurely  brought 
his  face  to  bear  upon  mine  and  eyed  me  fixedly. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,"  he  said,  slowly,  "  I  likes  to  shake  you  by 
der  hand  und  it  vhas  a  good  ting  to  be  a  happy  barty.  But  if 
you  doan  navigate  us  you  vhas  of  no  use,  und  we  puts  you  into 
dot  boat  mit  der  two  Spaniards  und  sends  you  away,  hoping 
dot  it  shall  be  well  mit  us  all." 


I  remained  in  my  berth  during  the  greater  part  of  that  after- 
noon. I  was  nearly  mad  and  afraid  to  trust  myself  on  deck. 
The  insult,  let  alone  the  significance,  of  Bol's  threat  to  send  me 
adrift  with  the  two  Spaniards,  was  crushing,  because  it  found 
me  entirely  helpless.  Bligh,  of  the  Boiaity,  had  been  so  served; 
others  who  deserved  far  better  usage  at  the  hands  of  their  crew 
than  Bligh,  of  X\\t  Bounty  ^\\■^i^.  been  put  into  boats  in  mid-ocean 
and  dispatched  to  their  doom.  In  the  next  hour  I  might  find 
myself  adrift  with  the  two  Spaniards,  the  brig  a  white  gleam  on 
the  horizon,  the  lady  Aurora  alone  witli  the  crew,  the  money 
as  utterly  lost  to  me  as  if  it  had  gone  to  the  bottom. 


A    TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF  COURSE.  311 

So  I  remained  in  my  berth  and  thought,  and  all  the  after- 
noon I  sat  thinking  till  the  evening  darkened  upon  the  port- 
hole, till  the  fire  had  gone  out  of  my  blood,  and  the  machinery 
of  the  brain  worked  calmly. 

Thrice,  or  perhaps  four  times,  did  Miss  Aurora  beat  upon 
my  cabin  door  and  call  my  name.  I  heard  her  ask  the  lad 
Jimmy  if  I  was  ill,  if  I  was  mad,  what  had  happened,  why  did 
the  Senor  Fielding  hide  himself  ?  The  half-witted  boy  knew 
not  how  to  answer  her.  She  knocked  upon  my  door  again. 
I  told  her  that  I  was  hard  at  work,  and  promised  to  join  her 
presently. 

When  the  dusk  fell,  I  opened  the  door  of  my  berth  and  en- 
tered the  cabin.  I  stepped  at  once  to  the  tell-tale  compass, 
and  saw  that  the  brig's  course  was  still  east  by  south.  The 
lamp  was  alight  and  the  meal  of  the  evening  was  upon  the 
table.  The  breeze  was  light,  the  heel  of  the  brig  trifling.  I 
guessed  she  was  under  the  same  canvas  I  had  left  her  clothed 
in  at  noon.  I  saw  the  stars  shining  through  the  skylight  glass, 
and  heard  a  steady  trudge  of  feet  overhead,  as  of  two  men, 
perhaps  three,  walking  the  quarter-deck.  I  looked  round  for 
the  lady  Aurora,  and,  while  I  did  so,  her  white  dress,  with  its 
fanciful  decoration  of  bunting,  filled  the  companion  way,  and 
she  came  down.  Her  eyes  were  bright,  her  looks  without  ex- 
citement or  alarm,  her  cheeks  faintly  colored  by  the  breath  of 
the  evening  air  she  was  fresh  from.  It  was  clear — I  saw  it  in 
her — she  knew  nothing  of  what  had  passed. 

"  At  last,  senor,"  said  she,  approaching  as  though  to  give  me 
her  hand. 

She  stopped,  looked  at  me  earnestly,  and  slightly  wagged 
her  head  in  a  strange  foreign  way. 

"  You  are  ill  ?  "  she  said. 

"  No  ;  I  am  hungry.     Let  us  sup." 

She  removed  her  hat.  I  helped  her  to  take  off  her  jacket. 
While  this  was  doing  she  was  silent.  She  took  her  seat  in 
silence,  and  viewed  me  without  speech,  reflecting  in  her  own 
face  the  expression  in  mine,  as  I  might  suppose,  for  now  was 
her  look  of  ease  gone.  I  waited  until  we  had  eaten  and  drunk, 
occasionally  breaking  the  silence  by  commonplace  remarks  ; 
then,  closing  my  knife  and  fork,  and  draining  my  mug.  Hooked 
up  at  the  skylight,  round  at  the  companion  way,  leaned  my 
head  on  my  elbow  across  the  table,  and  told  my  companion,  as 
best  I  could,  what  had  happened,  and  what  was  still  happening, 
aboard  us. 


312  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Her  intelligence  was  so  keen,  she  was  so  apt  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  my  looks  and  gestures,  so  quick  in  collecting  the 
meaning  of  my  words,  that  I  found  no  difficulty  in  making  her 
understand.  She  exclaimed  often  in  Spanish  ;  the  shadows  of 
many  emotions  swept  her  face  ;  she  stared  with  horror  when 
she  understood  that  the  men  meant  I  should  carry  the  brig  to 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  that  the  vessel's  head  was  already 
pointed,  according  to  their  notions  of  navigation,  for  the  Island 
of  Amsterdam.  But  she  received  the  news  with  a  degree  of 
calmness  that  was  an  astonishment  and  a  reproach  to  me  when 
I  thought  of  my  own  distraction.  I  scarcely  imagined  she 
grasped  the  full  meaning  of  the  crew's  intention,  till,  pointing 
downward,  by  which  she  signified  the  brig's  hold,  she  said  : 

"The  Casada  had  a  demon  on  board.  It  is  now  the  spirit 
of  this  ship." 

This  she  conveyed  in  Spanish  and  English.  I  understood 
her. 

"  Yet  I  mean  to  keep  a  hold  of  that  demon,"  said  I,  think- 
ing aloud  rather  than  talking  to  her.  "  I'd  put  the  vessel 
ashore  sooner  than  let  the  scoundrels  plunder  me  of  my  share 
and  divide — Jesus  Maria  !  only  think  ! — fifteen  tons  of  dollars 
among  them  !  "  and  I  smote  the  table  with  my  fist,  and  the 
blood,  hot  as  flame,  flushed  my  face. 

Then  the  following  conversation  passed  between  us,  managed 
as  before.  I  give  you  the  clear  sense  picked  out  of  the  inter- 
ruptions, gestures,  sentences,  and  looks  : 

"  What  shall  you  do,  Senor  Fielding  ?  " 

"  Advise  me." 

"  I — a  poor,  helpless  woman,  ignorant  of  the  sea  ?  Yet  does 
it  not  seem  to  you  that,  unless  you  comply,  they  will  send  you 
away  with  Antonio  and  Jorge." 

"  Yes." 

"Then  you  will  comply." 

"  And  after  ?  " 

"After?"  she  cried.  "Who  knows?  Many  things  may 
happen  to  deliver  us  from  this  dreadful  situation  ;  but,  if  you 
defy  the  crew,  and  they  put  you  and  my  countrymen  into  a 
boat,  we  are  surely  lost." 

I  assented  with,  a  gesture. 

"  They  are  ignorant  of  navigation  ? "  said  she. 

*'  Utterly." 

"  Could  not  you  steal  the  brig  to  a  part  of  some  coast  where 
we  are  likely  to  fall  in  with  ships  of  war  ?  " 


A    TRAGIC  SHIFT  OF   COURSE.  Z^2> 

"  If  they  suspected  treachery  they'd  hang  me  at  the  yard- 
arm." 

"  Ave  Maria  !     Where  is  this  New  Holland  ?  " 

"  It  is  very  far  from  here." 

"How  far?" 

"  It  may  be  four  months  and  perhaps  five  months  from  this 
place." 

"  Mother  of  God  !  Is  Spain  to  be  reached  from  New  Hol- 
land ?  " 

"  Yes,'  but  the  world  grows  old  before  such  voyages  are 
ended." 

She  cast  down  her  gaze  in  thought.  The  noise  of  the  tramp 
of  footsteps  had  ceased  ;  I  reckoned  we  were  being  watched,  but  I 
would  not  lift  up  my  eyes  to  know.  I  rose  and  paced  the  cabin, 
having  formed  my  resolution  ;  and  now  I  considered  with 
whom  of  the  crew  I  should  speak.  I  abhorred  Yon  Bol  for  the 
horrible  threat  he  had  uttered,  for  the  enormous  insult  that  threat 
implied,  and  I  dared  not  put  myself  alone  with  him — yet.  I 
went  to  the  companion  ladder  and  called  up  the  hatch  for 
Jimmy  ;  my  cry  was  re-echoed,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  the  boy 
made  his  appearance. 

"  Tell  Friend  to  come  to  me — here." 

"  Senor  Fielding,"  said  the  lady  Aurora,  "  you  will  comply 
with  the  men's  requests  ?  "  I  motioned  an  assent.  "  If  not  we 
are  lost.  I  have  been  thinking.  You  are  in  their  power. 
Paciencia !  If  they  send  you  away,  I — I — Aurora  de  la 
Cueva — "  and  in  pronouncing  her  name  she  touched  her  breast 
two  or  three  times,  "  am  alone  with  men  who  will  be  the 
murderers  of  you  and  my  countrymen.  I  count  upon  your 
protection.     Think  of  me  alone  in  this  ship  with  your  men." 

She  clasped  her  hands  and  turned  her  dark  and  shining  eyes 
upon  the  little  stand  of  muskets.  A  peculiar  expression  slightly 
curled  her  lip  as  she  looked  at  those  weapons. 

"  I'll  not  leave  you." 

She  put  her  forefinger  to  her  mouth,  and  at  that  moment  I 
saw  a  man's  legs  in  the  hatch. 

"  Is  it  down  here  I'm  wanted,  sir  ? "  said  the  voice  of 
Friend. 

"  Come  along." 

He  descended,  pulled  his  cap  off,  and  stared  with  looks  of 
misgiving  and  surprise.  Peradventure  he  thought  I  had  a  design 
on  his  life,  and  meant  to  slaughter  the  crew  one  by  one,  courte- 
ously inviting  them  below  for  that  purpose.     He  was  a  sailor  of 


314  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

a  mild  cast  of  face,  rather  quiet  in  manner,  and  had  the  most  civil 
and  least  swearing  tongue  in  the  brig. 

"Sit  down.  I've  a  message  for  the  crew.  I  am  sick  of  that 
huge,  bloody-minded  Bol's  yaw-yaw-yawling  jaw.  Your 
English  is  mine.     You'll  answer  some  questions,  perhaps?  " 

"I  will,  sir." 

"The  scheme's  this:  we  said  to  Amsterdam  Island,  there 
unload  the  silver  and  bury  it.      Why  Amsterdam  Island  ?  " 

"Because  it's  straighten  the  road  to  Australia,  uninhabited, 
and  never  visited." 

"  Why  do  you  not  proceed  direct  to  Botany  Bay,  keeping 
the  money  aboard  ?" 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  he  answered,  putting  down  his  cap,  leaning 
forward,  and  addressing  me  with  his  forefinger  on  the  palm  of 
his  left  hand.  "  It's  a  matter  we've  argued  out  for'ads,  and 
we're  all  agpeed  ;  for  this  reason.  There'll  be  nothing  easier 
than  to  wreck  the  vessel  within  a  day's  walk  of  Port  Jackson. 
If  we  keeps  the  money  aboard  we  shall  be  casting  it  away  with 
the  brig.  Is  the  risk  of  our  losing  the  money  along  with  the 
brig  to  be  entertained  ?  Why,  certainly  an'  of  course  7iot.  The 
money's  to  be  hid  first.  D'ye  ask,  why  we  don't  hide  it  on 
that  part  of  the  coast  where  we  cast  the  brig  away  ?  Because 
the  privacy  there  aint  the  privacy  of  an  uninhabited  island  ; 
there's  savages  and  settlers  a-knocking  about ;  runaway  convicks 
and  chaps  in  sarch  of  'em  ;  and  no  man  would  reckon  the 
money  safe  until  it  was  dug  up.  Next  step,  then,  after  losing 
the  brig,  will  be  to  tramp  it  to  Port  Jackson,  shipwrecked  men. 
There  Teach  has  a  friend.  That  friend's  an  old  i)alof  Teach's, 
and  when  last  heard  of  was  a-doing  well.  He'll  find  us  in  a 
schooner  or  some  small  vessel,  and  when  we've  got  the  money 
he'll  show  us  the  ropes." 

"  What's  Teach's  friend  ?  " 

"  Dunno,  sir." 

"  Was  he  a  convict  ?" 

*  Dunno,  sir." 

"You  think  this  a  devilish  clever  scheme,  don't  you  ?" 

"  It'll  come  off — it'll  come  off,"  he  answered. 

"  I'll  work  you  up  twenty  safer,  surer,  and  easier  schemes 
than  that,"  said  I. 

"  Maybe  ;  we  likes  our'n,"  he  answered,  with  a  quiet  grin 
and  a  slow  look  at  the  lady  Aurora,  who  was  listening  with  the 
strained,  vexed,  impatient  look  of  one  who  hears  but  under- 
stands little  of  what  passes. 


BOVS  RUSE.  315 

"Amsterdam  Island  is  in  the  Indian  Ocean,"  said  I. 

"So  they  say." 

"  No  vessel  under  three  hundred  tons  may  navigate  the 
Indian  seas.     Do  you  know  that  ?  " 

"  When  I  was  in  a  Company's  ship  I  think  I  heerd  some- 
thing of  the  sort,  but  there's  no  law  where  Amsterdam  Island 
is,  and  if  there  was — we  aren't  pirates,  anyhow  ;  "  and  he  made 
as  if  he  would  rise. 

"  It's  a  damnably  wicked  scheme,  a  hanging  scheme,  and  as 
stupid  as  it's  wicked.  D'ye  know  what  Yan  Bol  told  me  to- 
day ?  .  .  .  .  Friend,  I'm  an  Englishman  talking  to  an  English- 
man ;  and  this  threat  is  an  accursed  Dutchman's.  Yan  Bol 
told  me  to-day  that  if  I  refused  to  navigate  the  brig  to  Amster- 
dam Island,  you  men  would  send  me  adrift  in  one  of  the  boats, 
along  with  the  two  Spaniards." 

"  Mr.  Fielding,"  he  exclaimed  earnestly,  "  it  was  talked  of — 
it  is  talked  of.  You'll  be  making  it  mere  talk,  sir,  I'm  for 
working  this  traverse  on  the  smooth.  Let  good  will  grease  the 
ways,  says  I.  Why,  aint  it  for  you  as  well  as  for  us  ?  You're 
no  servant  of  Tulp's,  and  the  captain  is  gone  dead,  and  if  we 
says,  *  Here  stow  more'n  the  allowance  of  dollars  ye  was  to 
have,  only  steer  us  true  and  take  a  sheepshank  in  your  tongue,' 
who  wouldn't  be  you  ?  It's  easy  terms  for  a  swilling  measure. 
And  that's  my  sentiments  straight." 

"  You  can  go  forward.  Friend,"  said  I,  "  and  tell  Mr.  Yan 
Bol  and  the  men  that  I  have  thought  the  matter  over,  that  I 
consent  to  remain  captain  of  the  brig,  and  to  navigate  her  to 
Amsterdam  Island." 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
bol's  ruse. 

"  What  demons  !  "  exclaimed  the  lady  Aurora  when  Friend 
had  left  the  cabin.  "  You  do  well  to  consent.  May  the  Holy 
Virgin  watch  over  us  and  deliver  us  ! "  She  cast  up  her  eyes 
and  crossed  herself  with  great  devotion. 

When  Friend  was  gone  with  my  message  I  leaned  upon  the 
cabin  table  thinking.  The  Spanish  lady  chattered.  I  did  not 
heed  her.  I  had  no  hope,  saw  no  prospect,  could  imagine  no 
issue.  True,  much  might  happen  ;  but  then,  what  would  be 
good  for  my  safety — for  my  own  and  the  safety  of  Madam 
Aurora — migJit  prove  fatal  to  my  fortune,  and  my  dollars  were 
with  me  the  first  of  all  considerations. 


3l6  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

I  wanted  my  six  thousand  pounds  :  I  wanted  the  thirty 
thousand  pounds  which  formed  Greaves'  share,  that  I  might 
deal  with  it  in  accordance  with  his  instructions  . I  wished  to 
realize  the  happy  dreams  I  had  been  dreaming  throughout  the 
voyage.  It  was  maddening  to  think  of  the  whole  fifteen  tons 
of  silver  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  blackguard  fellows  for- 
ward ;  and  yet  the  devil's  luck  of  the  business,  as  it  now  stood, 
was  this,  that  what  was  bad  for  them  was  bad  for  me — by  which 
I  mean  that  if  the  brig  was  captured  by  an  enemy,  or  boarded 
by  an  Englishman  and  the  money  discovered  ;  if  slie  foundered 
or  was  stranded  with  the  dollars  aboard,  I  might  indeed  escape 
with  my  life,  I  might  be  delivered  along  with  the  lady  Aurora 
from  the  situation  I  was  now  in — but  my  dollars  would  be  lost 
to  me,  and  with  them  my  sweet  and  jolly  prospects. 

I  went  into  my  cabin,  brought  out  a  chart,  and  putting  it 
under  the  lamp  laid  off  a  course  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
I  likened  my  feelings  to  those  of  a  man  who  is  wakened  by  a 
jailer  and  told  that  all  is  ready,  that  he  can  order  Avhat  he  likes 
for  breakfast,  and  that  the  chaplain  will  wait  upon  him  pres- 
ently. I  struck  the  chart  a  blow  with  my  fist,  and  hissed  a 
curse  at  it  like  any  stage  ruffian.  We  were  to  be  bound  the 
other  way  now.  We  were  sailing  to  the  inhospitable  ends  of 
the  earth  ;  the  stars  of  the  south  were  to  arise  again  ;  the  star 
of  the  pole  must  remain  a  dream  of  home. 

The  tragic  suddenness  of  it  all,  when  only  at  dinner  that  day 
I  was  rejoicing  in  spirit  over  our  progress  north,  and  telling  my 
Spanish  companion  what  I  meant  to  do  with  my  share  of  the 
dollars ! 

I  replaced  the  chart,  drank  a  tumbler  of  grog,  and  stepping 
on  deck,  marched  to  the  wheel  and  looked  at  the  card.  Call 
grasped  the  spokes. 

"Let  her  go  off.     The  course  is "  and  I  gave  the  fellow 

the  course. 

The  swollen,  dusky  shapes  of  Bol,  Galen,  and  others  of  the 
crew  trudged  in  the  gangway.  It  was  a  fine,  clear  night,  I 
sang  out  : 

"  Trim  sail  and  then  heap  it  on  her.  Set  stun's'ls  and  let 
her  go." 

My  voice  was  instantly  echoed  by  Bol. 

"  Hurrah,  my  ladts  !  Man  der  braces.  Clear  avay  der 
foretopmast  stun's'l.  Hurrah  for  beesiness  !  All  vhas  right 
now.     Dis  vhas  a  happy  ship." 

I  stood  beside  the  wheel  while  the  men  trimmed  and  made 


BOLS  RUSE.  3^7 

sail,  Bol  roaring  at  them,  deeply  thunderous,  with  excitement 
and  satisfaction.     Presently  the  great   Dutchman  came  up  to 

me. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  vhas  he  a  disgrace  to  shake  handts  now  ?" 

I  gave  him  my  hand,  and  the  brute  squeezed  it.  He  then 
looked  at  the  card,  observed  the  course,  and  said,  "  Dot  vhas 
for  der  Cape  !  " 

"  Yaw." 

"  He  vill  not  bring  der  land  aboardt  ?  All  hands  would  gif 
der  Point  of  Agulhas  a  vide  berth." 

"  I'll  run  you  as  far  south  as  you  choose." 

"  Veil,  I  dessay  a  hondred  mile  vhas  sout  enough." 

"  Is  the  fresh  water  going  to  carry  us  to  Amsterdam  Island  ?  " 

"  Dot  vhas  to  findt  out.  If  not,  dere  vhas  plenty  of  rain  in 
der  sky  before  dere  casks  gif  out.  But  she  vhas  not  longer  to 
Amsterdam  Island  dan  to  England,  and  dere  vhas  water  to 
last  to  England,  so  dot  vhas  all  right,  I  hope.  Dere  is  fresh 
water  on  der  island." 

"  And  your  provisions  ?  " 

"  She  vhas  to  be  seen  to  likewise." 

"  You'll  find  nothing  to  eat  at  Amsterdam  Island  ;  nothing  to 
carry  you  on  to  Port  Jackson." 

"  Vhen  der  money  vhas  hid  dere  vhas  St.  Paul  hard  by,  mit 
goats,  und  cabbage,  und  fish  for  drying." 

I  cursed  him  behind  my  teeth.  The  villain  looked  far  ahead  ; 
all  hands  knew  what  they  were  about,  while  I  saw  nothing  an 
inch  beyond  my  nose. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  ve  vhas  all  gladt  dot  you  remain  in  sharge. 
Mitout  you  ve  vhas  at  sea  indeedt.  You  vhas  now  von  of  us. 
Dere  vhas  no  robbery.  Tink  a  leedle,  Mr.  Fielding.  How 
vhas  Tulp  to  know  dot  ve  hov  der  dollars  ?  Tink  a  leedle,  sir. 
Ve  gifs  him  our  vages — our  verk  costs  her  not  von  stiver. 
Der  captain  vhas  deadt — der  money  by  der  law  of  expeditions 
like  ash  dis  vhas,  I  mean  expedition  dot  vhas  all  der  same  as 
privateering,  belongs  to  der  surfifers.  Suppose  I  die  ?  Veil, 
my  share  goes  by  rights  to  you  und  der  oders.  Dot  vhas 
onderstood.     Now,  Mr.  Fielding,  vliat  vhas  your  share  to  be  }" 

On  his  asking  me  this  question  I  walked  off. 

It  was  fine  weather  till  past  midniglit ;  the  wind  then  came 
out  of  the  northeast  in  a  heavy  squall  of  wet,  and  after  tliis 
for  several  days  it  blew  very  fresh.  The  rain  drove  in  clouds 
over  the  sea  ;  the  dark  sky  hung  low,  and  our  reeling  trucks 
were  swept  by  the  shadows  of  the  flying  scud.     Yet   in  these 


3i8  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEiVI 

heavy,  boisterous  days  Yan  Bol  and  two  or  three  others  Contrived 
to  take  stock  of  the  quantity  of  fresh  water  and  provisions  on 
board.  Bol  sent  Jimmy  to  me  with  the  particulars,  and  asked 
leave  to  attend  me  in  my  cabin  while  I  worked  out  the  figures. 
I  sent  word  back  that  an  Englishman  might  come — Teach  or 
Friend — bidding  Jimmy  add  that  I  understood  Bol's  English 
with  difficulty.  The  truth  was  I  hated  the  villain  ;  wished  to 
have  no  more  to  do  with  him  than  the  work  of  the  brig  forced 
upon  me.  He  had  threatened  me  with  an  open  boat,  he  was 
at  the  bottom  of  this  seizure  of  the  brig  and  her  cargo  of 
silver  ;  the  project  of  casting  the  vessel  away  was  his  I  did  not 
question.  Could  I  have  served  any  purpose  by  taking  his  life 
I'd  have  shot  him  with  less  compunction  than  I'd  wring  a 
fowl's  neck. 

The  man  who  arrived  was  Teach.  He  had  washed  his  face 
and  buttoned  himself  up  in  a  clean  pilot  coat  to  pay  the  cabin 
this  visit.  He  was  a  smart  seaman  :  a  sharp-looking  rogue, 
with  curling  hair  and  a  long,  lean  nose,  and  little,  darting  eyes. 
He  knocked  on  my  cabin  door,  and  I  bade  him  come  in. 

"  Oh,"  said  I,  "  is  it  you  ?     Sit  down." 

Without  further  words,  I  took  pencil  and  paper  and  fell  to 
my  calculations.  Bol's  figures  lay  before  me,  I  guessed  they 
were  correct.  He'd  naturally  go  to  work  anxiously,  that  we 
might  not  be  starved  or  driven  by  thirst  from  the  Amsterdam 
Island  scheme.  There  was  so  much  beef,  so  much  pork,  so 
much  ship-bread,  and  such  and  such  a  quantity  of  peas,  sugar, 
flour,  and  the  like  ;  there  was  so  much  water.  We  were  fifteen 
souls  in  all,  counting  the  girl  and  the  two  Spaniards  ;  and  my 
figures  worked  out  thus — that,  at  the  usual  allowance,  we  had 
provisions  for  seven  months  and  water  for  three. 

I  gave  Teach  these  figures,  and  then  put  them  down  in  black 
and  white  for  the  crew,  and  handed  him  the  paper. 

"  There's  plenty  of  provisions,"  said  he,  looking  at  the  paper 
upside  down,  "  to  last  all  hands  to  Australia.  Fresh  water 
we'll  take  in  at  Amsterdam  Island." 

"  Ever  at  Sydney  ? " 

"No,  sir." 

"  Who's  your  friend  ?  " 

"  A  man  named  Max  Lampton." 

"  D'ye  know  that  he's  now  at  Sydney  ?  " 

"He  was  there  two  years  ago.  If  he's  dead  his  son'll  be 
living.  But  he  ain't  dead.  Max  is  one  who  takes  care  of  him- 
self.    No  drink — no  baccy — regular  as  a  clock — a  steady  man." 


^OL'S  RUSE.  319 

"What  do  you  expect  of  him  ?" 

"  He'll  show  us  what  to  do  with  the  money  ;  'vart  it  into 
paper  and  gold  for  us." 

"Fifteen  tons  !" 

"  It'll  take  time.  We  sailors  aren't  going  to  make  a  job  of  it 
without  help,  anyhow.  " 

"Is  it  a  clever  idea  to  bury  this  silver  in  Amsterdam  Island, 
first  of  all?" 

"  Ay,  blooming  clever  !  Where's  there  such  another  island 
to  answer  our  turn  ?  We  can't  cast  the  brig  away  with  the 
money  aboard,  that's  sartin." 

"  You  mean  to  cast  her  away  ?  " 

"Why,  what  are  we  to  do  with  her  ? "  said  he,  talking  all  this 
while  with  his  little  eyes  rooted  on  my  face.  "  Carry  her  to 
Port  Jackson  ?  What's  the  yarn  we're  to  spin  ?  Where  are 
we  to  ha'  come  from  ?  Where  was  we  to  be  bound  to  ?  We've 
thought  it  o'er.  Wedon't  like  the  notion.  She's  a  pretty  boat, 
but  she  must  go.  There's  a  blooming  lot  of  us.  Are  we  all  to 
be  trusted  ?  Are  we  all  going  to  stick  to  the  same  yarn  if  it 
comes  to  close  questioning?  Any  durned  fool  can  be  a  ship- 
wrecked sailor.  There's  a-many  durned  fools  piking  it  now  as 
castaways  on  the  British  roads,  a-yarning  spunkily,  and  saving 
money." 

I  thought  to  myself,  "  And  you'd  trust  me,  would  you  ? 
You'd  allow  me  to  be  one  of  your  shipwrecked  party,  eh  ?  And 
if  I  am  not  to  be  one  of  your  shipwrecked  party — and  most 
surely  you  don't  intend  that  I  shall  be — what's  to  happen  be- 
twixt this  and  New  Holland?  How  have  you  hearts  of  oak 
arranged  to  get  rid  of  me  ? " 

I  looked  down  and  sat  silent  in  thought.  He  stirred,  as  if 
to  leave,  and  said  : 

"  We're  too  many,  sir." 

"  For  the  dollars  ? " 

He  grinned,  and  answered  : 

"  No.  There  are  dollars  enough  for  all  hands.  We're  too 
many  mouths  for  the  stock  of  provisions  and  water." 

"  Yan  Bol  has  threatened  to  send  me  adrift,  curse  him  !  Do 
you  mean  that  I  should  go  first  to  shrink  your  company  !  " 

"  No,  no  !  "  he  answered,  in  a  voice  heavy  and  almost  savage 
with  emphasis ;  and  he  thumped  his  knee  with  his  fist.  "We 
can't  do  without  you — you  know  that,  Mr.  Fielding.  And 
that  brings  me  to  something  I'll  tell  you  in  a  minute  or  two. 
It's  them  Spaniards.     What's  the  good  of  them  ?  " 


320  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"  No  cruelty  !  So  help  me  God !  if  there's  cruelty  I  drop 
my  command  !     Mark  me,  and  report  what  I  tell  you." 

"  There'll  be  no  cruelty,"  said  the  man  sullenly  ;  *'  but  them 
Johnnies'll  have  to  walk." 

"And  the  lady?" 

"Aint  she  in  your  share?"  said  he,  and  his  face  relaxed. 
He  drove  his  quid  out  of  one  cheek  into  the  other,  and  when 
he  had  chawed  a  little  while,  he  said,  "  But  what's  to  be  your 
share  ? " 

I  crooked  my  eyebrows  and  surveyed  him  steadily. 

"  Won't  you  give  it  a  name,  sir  ?  " 

"  Shall  I  get  it  by  naming  it  ?" 

"Mr.  Fielding,  we  can't  trust  you  if  you  can't  trust  us." 

"  What  share  will  you  give  ?  " 

"  A  big  share." 

"  Bol  and  the  rest  of  you  know  the  worth  of  what's  below. 
Make  me  an  offer  in  writing.     It'll  content  me." 

"  Give  me  a  figure  to  go  upon,"  said  he  standing  up.  "  Tell 
us  what  you  was  to  get  if  Captain  Greaves  had  carried  the  brig 
home." 

"  Six  thousand  pounds,  and  a  thousand  from  Captain  Greaves 
— seven  thousand  pounds." 

An  oath  broke  from  him — he  checked  himself ;  struck  his 
thigh  hard,  picked  up  his  cap,  and  looked  at  me  sideways. 
Then,  stepping  to  the  door,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Good  pay  compared  to  the  forecastle  allowance." 

I  began  to  whistle,  and  drew  on  paper  with  the  pencil  I  had 
calculated  with.     He  again  eyed  me  sideways  and  went  out. 

I  believe  it  was  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  heavy  weather  that 
Teach  had  paid  me  this  visit.  Next  morning,  while  I  was 
breakfasting  with  the  Spanish  lady,  Jimmy — the  boy  as  I  call 
him,  though  he  was  a  great,  hulking,  strong,  sprawling  lad  as 
you  know  ;  half  an  idiot  in  many  directions,  but  quick  and 
even  intelligent  in  some — this  lad  came  into  the  cabin  and  said 
that  Bol  asked  to  speak  to  me.  I  would  not  have  the  Dutch- 
man below,  neither  would  I  leave  my  breakfast ;  so  I  bid  the 
lad  say  I'd  be  on  deck  by  and  by.  Down  he  comes  a  minute 
later  with  a  bit  of  dirty  folded  paper  in  his  hand. 

"  Master,"  says  he,  "  Mister  Bol  didn't  know  you  was  at 
breakfast.  Will  you  read  this,  and  tell  him,  when  you  go  on 
deck,  if  it's  to  your  satisfaction  ?" 

The  dirty  piece  of  paper  was  like  to  the  sheets  that  had  been 
used  for  the  Round  Robin.     It  was  the  fly-leaf  of  some  old 


BOL'S  RUSE.  .321 

book,  yellow  with  age  and  pockmarked  with  brine.  A  Dutch 
scrawl  in  faint  ink  half  covered  it.  The  precious  document 
ran  thus  : 

Meester  Fielding,  dis  vhas  a  bondt.  All  handts  agree.  Suppose  dere 
vhas  fifteen  ton  silver — veil,  two  tons  vhas  yours  if  you  sail  der  brick  true  und 
does  her  duty  by  00s  ash  we  does  by  him.  Dot  being  right  ve  all  makes  our 
marks  and  sines  her  names  ash  oonder.  -If— yoa-gegs  wrong  -dis  bondt  vhas 
ters-esp,  und  vot  vhas  las'  wrote  stans  for  noting.     Dere  vhas  no  more  paper. 

Then  followed  the  crosses  and  names  of  the  men,  as  in  the 
Round  Robin.  I  burst  into  a  laugh.  Heartsick  as  I  was,  this 
stroke  of  farce,  happening  in  the  great  tragic  occasion  of  that 
time,  proved  too  much  for  me.     I  put  the  paper  in  my  pocket. 

"  At  what  do  you  laugh  ? "  said  the  lady  Aurora. 

*'  At  a  piece  of  Dutch  humor,"  said  I,  laughing  again. 

She  looked  eagerly,  and  wished  to  know  if  the  crew  had  done 
anything  to  please  me — anything  to  lighten  my  anxiety. 

"  They  have  given  me  two  tons  of  silver,"  said  I  with  a  sneer, 
pointing  down  that  she  might  understand  me. 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders,  and  asked  no  more  questions 
about  the  crew's  bond.  I  reckoned  she  saw  in  my  face  as  much 
as  she  was  interested  to  hear.  I  observed  her  fine  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  stand  of  muskets  and  cutlasses  and  watched  her  ;  not 
speculating  on  her  thoughts,  merely  observing  her  face.  I  be- 
held no  marks  of  anxiety  in  her  handsome  features,  of  such 
passions  of  uneasiness  and  continued  distress  as  you  would  look 
for  in  a  woman  situated  as  she  was.  The  glass  in  poor  Greaves' 
cabin  had  assured  me  that  what  had  befallen  us  had  not  sweet- 
ened or  colored  my  own  visage.  I  was  growing  long  of  face  ; 
yellowing  daily,  and  my  eyes  had  sunk.  This  Spanish  girl,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  still  bright  and  spirited  with  all  the  health 
she  had  regained  aboard  us.  I  watched  her  while  she  looked 
at  the  weapons  ;  she  turned  her  face  slowly  upon  mine,  and  our 
eyes  met. 

"Why,"  she  exclaimed — and  now  began  one  of  those  brief 
conversations  which  I  am  forced  to  put  into  plain  English  for 
reasons  I  have  given  you — "  why,  Senor  Fielding,  .do  not  you  lock 
away  those  swords  and  firearms?" 

"  Why  should  I  lock  them  away  ?  " 

"  The  crew  may  take  them." 

"  What  then  ? "  said  I,  "  we  should  be  no  worse  off.  I  am 
alone  :  forward  are  ten  stout,  determined  men  ;  armed  or  un- 
armed, 'tis  all  one." 

"  There  are  two,"  said  she. 


32  2  UST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

"  Yes,  Jimmy  is  a  strong  lad,  and  might  be  useful,  and  I  dare 
say  he  is  on  our  side  at  heart,  but  he  is  wanting,"  said  I,  touch- 
ing my  head.     "  I  dare  not  trust  him." 

She  smiled  and  said,"  I  did  not  mean  the  youth.  I  am  the 
other." 

I  asked  her  to  explain.  She  rose  and  seated  herself  beside 
me.  The  skylight  was  partially  covered  with  tarpaulin,  and 
what  was  visible  of  the  glass  was  blank  as  mist  with  wet.  The 
brig  was  full  of  noises.  She  was  rolling  and  pitching  very 
heavily,  and  the  thunder  of  seas  bursting  back  in  heavy  hills  of 
foam  from  her  weather  side  trembled  like  discharges  of  cannon 
through  the  length  of  her.  Nevertheless  the  senorita  came  and 
sat  by  my  side,  and  put  her  lips  close  to  my  ear,  though  had 
she  shrieked  her  ideas  from  the  extreme  end  of  the  cabin,  or  even 
up  through  the  hatch,  nobody  on  deck  would  have  heard  her. 

Her  manner  was  tragic  and  mysterious.  It  was  not  put  on. 
The  thoughts  in  her  bred  the  air,  and  she  had  thef  ace  and 
figure  for  a  very  curious  high  dramatic  expression  of  emotion 
of  any  sort. 

"  Why,"  said  she,  speaking  so  close  that  I  felt  the  heat  of 
her  face,  "  do  not  we  kill  the  men  who  are  robbing  you  and 
carrying  me  awav  ?  " 

"All  of  them?"  said  I. 

"  Not  Jimmy,  and  not  my  two  countrymen.  Look!  suppose  I 
bring  Antonio  here  and  tell  him  that  he  and  Jorge  are  in 
danger  of  their  lives,  and  that  they  must  fight  with  us  and  kill 
the  crew.  There  are  you,  me,  my  two  countrymen  :  there  is 
Jimmy,"  she  held  up  her  fingers.  "  Five  to  ten,  and  everything 
is  ready,"  said  she,  pointing  to  the  muskets. 

"  I  would  not  trust  your  two  countrymen.  They  are  cow- 
ards. I  would  not  risk  such  a  business  for  your  sake.  Fail- 
ure would  mean  my  being  killed  :  that  mtfsf  be  ;  and  how 
would  the  men  whom  we  did  not  kill  deal  with  you?" 

"  All  could  be  killed,"  said  she.  "  I  myself  will  kill  in  this 
cabin  that  great  Jean  Bol,  as  you  talk  to  him.  I  will  creep  be- 
hind and  stab  him.  Send  for  Galen  ;  I  will  kill  him  too  ; 
then  Teach.  Three  then  Sixt  gastados  f  [expended  !]  For  the 
rest "  She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  leaned  back  to  ob- 
serve the  impression  produced  upon  me  by  her  talk. 

"  Madam,"  said  I,  looking  at  her  eyes,  which  were  all  on  fire, 
and  her  cheeks,  which  were  colored,  hot  with  the  devilish  fan- 
cies which  worked  in  her,  "  your  spirit  is  fine,  but  somewhat 
too  deadly  for  one  of  my  cautious  character." 


BOL'S  RUSE.  323 

"I  wish  for  release,"  she  cried,  with  a  great  sigh,  and  her 
eyes  suddenly  clouded  ;  "  I  wish  for  my  mother  and  for  home. 
I  thought  the  English  were  brave,  vaya  !  Your  men  will  kill 
you  if  you  do  not  kill  them.  Are  you  afraid  to  kill  them  ?  Ave 
Maria  !     Good  men  die  in  thousands  every  day." 

She  began  to  tremble,  and  rose  as  if  to  pace  the  cabin  ;  the 
motion  of  the  brig  was  too  heavy  to  permit  that.  I  took  her 
hand  to  steady  her — it  had  turned  from  the  heat  of  fever  to  the 
coldness  of  marble.  "Just  so!"  thought  I;  "  aren't  }'0u  one 
of  those  delicate  assassins  who  prog  and  faint?  Who'd  stick 
friend  Yan,  then  swoon,  and  leave  me  to  deal  with  what  would 
follow  his  roars?  " 

"  We'll  burn  no  powder  just  yet,"  said  I,  "  and  we'll  keep 
our  poniards  in  our  breasts.  Amsterdam  Island  is  a  long  way 
off ;  many  things  may  happen." 

^'Pu!  (2//zV<?  rt//a.'"  she  exclaimed,  with  pale  lips  and  dull 
eyes,  and  trembling,  and  then  rising  with  a  murmur  of 
anger  and  a  manner  of  haughty  contempt  she  went  to  her 
berth. 

When  she  was  gone  there  ran  in  my  head  a  strange  fancy  of 
Defoe  concerning  a  beautiful  demon  lady.  You  may  read  of 
it  in  that  author's  "  History  of  the  Devil,"  which  is,  I  think, 
the  best  biography  of  the  landlord  of  the  Black  Divan  that  ever 
was  written.  I  could  not  but  vastly  admire  the  spirit  of  the 
woman  in  offering  to  shoot  down  the  ten  men  ;  but  I  thought 
there  was  something  damnable  and  fiendish  in  her  proposing  to 
make  a  shambles  of  the  cabin  by  sticking  Bol  and  the  others 
she  had  named,  while  I  talked  to  them.  A  demon  spoke 
through  her  Spanish  blood  there!  And  yet  her  fine  eyes  and 
fine  figure  were  in  my  memory  of  her  counsel,  and  found  a  sort 
of  fascination  for  what  should  have  affected  me  as  quite  abom- 
inable. 

I  sat  a  bit,  coldly  considering  her  ideas.  True  it  was  that  I 
could  have  killed  Bol  cheerfully  ;  but  to  slaughter  the  whole 
ten  of  them,  even  if  their  assassination  was  to  be  contrived  ! 
Bol,  to  be  sure,  had  threatened  to  send  me  adrift  :  he  may  have 
meant  no  more  than  a  threat  ;  my  life  was  not  immediately  in 
danger  ;  my  knowledge  as  a  navigator  warranted  me  the  good 
usage  of  the  scoundrels  till  the  coast  of  New  Holland  arose, 
and  'twixt  this  and  that  there  lay  some  months  :  the  men  had 
dealt  respectfully  with  the  girl — left  her  indeed  to  me,  as 
though  they  counted  her  a  part  of  my  share.  No  !  I  could 
not  consent  to  shoot  them  down  ;    I  could    not  consent  to 


324  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

let  her  ladyship  knife  the  ringleaders  while  I  conversed  with 
them — one  at  a  time. 

I  went  to  the  stand  and  took  out  a  musket  to  judge  the 
quality  and  age  of  the  lot  :  it  was  a  Dutch  musket,  long,  clumsy, 
and  murderous.  I  took  down  a  cutlass  and  tried  the  blade — 
all  this  mechanically  :  my  mind  was  rambling.  I  scarce  knew 
what  I  was  about  ;  I  bent  the  blade  and  the  steel  snapped  and 
the  point  of  it  sprang  with  the  twang  of  a  Jew's  harp  through 
the  air.  Some  of  Tulp's  purchases  !  thought  I,  then  replaced 
the  broken  half  of  the  blade  in  its  scabbard,  and  hung  up  the 
cutlass  in  its  place. 

This  trifle  begot  a  new  scorn  of  Tulp  in  me.  The  rogue 
would  even  cheat  himself,  thought  I.  He  would  ship  cannons 
that  burst  and  blades  that  shiver  to  save  a  guilder  or  two,  and 
risk  the  lives  of  us  men  and  his  dollars  by  the  ton  for  some 
lean-paring  of  saving  that  would  scarce  put  an  onion  to  a  man's 
bread  and  cheese.  What  do  I  care  for  Tulp,  thought  I  ?  What 
is  his  brig  to  me  now  that  poor  Greaves  is  gone  ?  Had  Greaves 
owned  relations  among  whom  he  wished  his  money  distributed 
the  thing  would  wear  a  different  face  ;  but  as  it  stands,  Tulp 
and  the  brig  being  nothing  to  me,  why  should  I  not  throw  in 
my  chance  with  the  crew,  elbow  Bol  out  of  his  leadership  by 
sheer  enthusiasm,  sincerity,  knowledge  of  the  ocean  roads  ? 
The  fellows  groped  in  their  black  ignorance  after  some 
scheme,  and  brought  up  this  muddy  project  of  Amsterdam 
Island  with  Sydney  beyond.  Could  not  I  devise  something 
much  better  than  thai  for  them,  something  safe  and  quick- 
compared  at  least  with  tJieir  programme :  something  they 
should  hearken  to  and  eagerly  adopt  when  they  saw  me  and 
knew  me  and  felt  me  to  be  in  earnest  ? 

Yan  Bol  came  up  wlien  I  put  my  head  out  of  the  hatch. 

"  Vhas  dot  bondt  all  right  ?  "  he  roared  that  his  voice  might 
carry  above  the  shouting  in  the  rigging  and  the  fierce  hissing 
of  the  sea. 

I  nodded. 

"  Two  ton.  Only  tink.  Dere  vhas  much  skylarking  in 
two  ton  of  silver.  How  many  dollars  shall  go  to  her  ?  "  said 
he. 

"  Dollars  enough  for  me,"  I  shouted,  and  passed  on  to  the 
compass  and  took  a  look  at  the  brig  and  around  me.  I  hated 
the  villain  ;  I  hated  his  roaring  voice,  and  his  English  ;  besides, 
speech  soon  grew  difficult,  even  to  physical  pain,  on  that  clam- 
orous deck. 

It  was  not  much  later  on,  however,  that  the  crew  gave  me 


Bons  RUSE.  325 

cause  to  think  twice  before  throwing  in  my  lot  with  them.  By 
this  time  we  had  stretched  far  across  the  Atlantic  ;  the  month 
of  April  was  drawing  to  an  end.  Much  heavy  weather  had  we 
encountered,  but  it  had  been  of  a  prosperous  sort,  rushing  us 
onward  with  hooting  rigging,  and  reeling  bands  of  canvas, 
with  such  a  spin  of  the  log-reel  that  many  a  time  and  oft  three 
and  sometimes  four  men  were  required  at  the  great  scope  of 
line  to  walk  it  in. 

On  the  day  of  the  little  business  I  am  going  to  tell  you  about 
I  went  on  deck  and  found  a  very  fine  morning.  The  blue  sky 
sank  crisp  with  mother-of-pearl-like  cloud  to  the  pale  edge  of 
the  sea.  The  sun,  that  was  risen  about  half-an-hour,  shone 
white  as  silver  in  the  east,  whence  blew  a  pleasant  breeze  of 
wind,  dead  on  end  for  us,  however,  so  that  our  yards  lay  fore 
and  aft  and  the  little  brig  under  every  stitch  of  plain  sail  looked 
away  from  her  course. 

I  saw  Bol  to  leeward  gazing  at  the  sea  off  the  lee  bow.  I 
never  addressed  that  man  now  unless  there  was  something  par- 
ticular to  say,  and  after  having  satisfied  myself  with  a  quarter- 
deck stare  around  and  aloft,  I  began  to  walk.  Bol  turned  his 
head  and  perceived  me.  He  approached,  and  pointing  his 
finger  at  the  sea  on  the  lee  bow,  said  : 

"  Do  you  see  dot  ship  ?" 

I  looked  and  spied  a  sail  hidden  to  me  until  this  by  the 
brig's  canvas. 

"  How  is  she  standing?" 

"  Our  vays." 

She  was  about  five  miles  distant.  Bol  had  been  using  the 
glass.  It  lay  upon  the  skylight.  I  examined  the  sail,  and 
found  her  a  small  topsail  schooner.  With  the  naked  eyes,  by 
the  look  of  her,  as  she  floated  out  there  in  the  frosty  whiteness 
of  sunshine,  I  had  guessed  her  twice  as  big  as  we.  She  was 
coming  along  leisurely.  The  wind  was  off  her  quarter,  and  a 
light  wind  for  fore-and-aft  canvas. 

"Vhat  vhas  she,  tink  you,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"  Don't  you  know  a  ship  by  her  rig  ?" 

"I  mean,  vhat  vhas  her  peesiness?  Vhas  she  some  leedle 
man-of-war  ?  " 

"Perhaps  a  trader,  bound  across  the  Atlantic." 

He  went  forward  as  far  as  the  gangway  and  beckoned.  Wirtz, 
who  stood  on  the  forecastle,  called  out  the  name  of  Galen,  and 
then  walked  aft  to  Bol,  along  with  Friend  and  Street.  Galen 
came  out  of  the  caboose  eating.  His  jaws  worked  with  some 
mouthful  he  had  crammed  betwixt   his  teeth.     There  was  but 


326  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

little  discipline  in  all  this,  you  will  say.  There  was  none  what- 
ever. There  had  been  very  little  discipline  on  board  the  Black 
Watch  since  illness  had  forced  poor  Greaves  to  give  up  and 
hand  the  command  over  to  me.  Was  the  fault  mine  ?  The 
long  and  short  of  it  was,  the  men  had  never  recognized  me  as 
mate  in  the  room  of  Jacob  Van  Laar.  They  had  worked  for 
the  safety  of  the  ship  and  because  of  Yan  Bol.  I  was  an  inter- 
loper. They  had  made  me  feel  it,  times  beyond  counting,  ixi 
their  sailors'  way  ;  and  now,  though  nominally  captain,  I  was 
no  more  nor  less  than  pilot,  with  authority  only  in  the  direction 
of  the  general  safety. 

All  this  I  very  much  understood  as  I  walked  the  deck,  ap- 
pearing not  to  heed  the  group  of  men  in  the  gangway,  and 
wondering  what  matter  they  were  settling  among  them.  Pres- 
ently Bol  came  aft,  took  the  telescope  to  the  men,  and  one  after 
another  of  them  leveled  it  at  the  little  sail  off  the  bow.  I  never 
caught  what  they  said,  though  my  steps  sometimes  brought 
me  pretty  close. 

They  turned  their  faces  my  way  sometimes.  Street  went  over 
to  the  boat  that  lay  stowed  in  the  longboat  amidships,  looked 
into  her,  and  returned  to  the  others.  1  then  thought  to  myself, 
"  Are  they  going  to  signal  that  craft  and  put  me  aboard  her  ?  " 
I  went  into  a  violent  passion  over  the  suspicion,  and  came  to  a 
stand  at  the  bulwarks,  nearly  opposite  the  spot  where  they 
were  grouped,  and  stared,  I  have  no  doubt,  with  a  very  black 
face.  Indeed,  my  conjecture  had  put  me  into  such  a  rage  that 
I  heeded  not,  by  a  snap  of  the  finger,  what  they  might  think, 
I  tried  to  cool  myself  by  reflecting  that  they  could  not  do  with- 
out me  ;  but  the  mere  notion  that  they  meant  to  turn  me  out 
of  the  brig,  and  make  off  with  Madam  Aurora  and  the  fifteen 
tons  of  silver,  taking  their  chance  of  what  might  follow,  worked 
like  a  madness  in  me. 

They  stood  together,  I  dare  say,  about  ten  minutes  talking. 
In  this  time  the  sail  had  grown,  and  was  visibly  a  topsail 
schooner,  low  in  the  water,  of  a  clean,  black,  slaver-like  run. 
The  sun  flashed  in  flame  from  her  wet  sides,  and  I  thought  at 
first  she  was  firing  at  us.     Meehan,  I  think  it  was,  sung  out : 

"  Better  see  all  ready,  mates  !  "  and  went  to  the  boat,  he 
and  others. 

Bol  alone  stayed,  looking  at  the  schooner.  He  then  came  to 
me. 

"  Mr.  Fielding,  I  shall  vant  to  command  for  a  leedle  vhile. 
Me  himself  vhas  skipper  till  our  peesiness  vhas  done." 


BOLS  RUSE.  337 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  do?"  said  I. 

"  To  shtop  dot  leedle  hooker.  I  shall  vant  to  hail  her.  Of 
course,  Mr.  Fielding,  you  vhas  der  captain  all  der  same  ;  but 
you  hov  a  soft  heart,  and  so  I  vhas  der  skipper  in  dis  shob." 

"  I  don't  understand  you." 

"  It  vhas  like  opening  your  eyes  in  a  minute.  You  vhas  not 
to  interfere,  dot  vhas  all." 

He  went  to  the  flag-locker,  took  out  the  English  ensign,  and 
ran  it  aloft,  union  down,  at  the  trysail  gaff-end. 

"  Back  der  main  topsail,  some  hands  !  "  he  bawled.  All 
hands  were  on  deck.  Hals  came  out  of  the  caboose  to  look 
on  or  to  help.  Some  of  the  men  laid  the  canvas  on  the  main 
a-back,  and  others  unshipped  the  little  gangway  preparatory  to 
launching  the  boat,  smack-fashion,  through  it  ;  and  among 
those  who  hove  the  little  boat  out  of  the  bigger  one,  and  ran 
her  to  the  side,  were  the  two  Spaniards.  Meanwhile,  the 
schooner  had  hoisted  English  colors.  They  blew  out  from  her 
main  topmast  head.  The  telescope  gave  me  the  character  of 
the  bunting.  To  the  naked  eye  it  waved  and  trembled  like  a 
red  light  against  the  pearly  crust  which  covered  the  sky  that 
way. 

I  guessed  by  her  showing  her  color  that  she  was  going  to  halt 
when  she  came  abreast.  What  did  my  crew  mean  to  do  ? 
What  scheme  had  the  beggars  suddenly  hit  on  and  were  going 
about  with  an  unanimity  that  held  them  all  as  quiet  as  the  backed 
topsail  aloft  ? 

It  was  about  now  that  Miss  Aurora  came  on  deck.  She 
looked  up  at  the  sails  of  the  brig,  at  the  flag  flying  at  our  try- 
sail gaff-end,  at  the  approaching  schooner,  the  open  gangway, 
the  boat  lying  in  it,  the  men  hanging  about  the  little  fabric. 

"  Holy  Mother  !  "  cried  she,  and  in  a  step  or  two  she  was  at 
my  side.  "  What  is  it  ?  What  is  wrong  ?  What  is  happen- 
ing ?  " 

Bol,  who  stood  with  others  near  the  boat,  hearing  her  turned. 
The  huge  man  approached  and  was  calling  out  before  I  could 
answer  the  girl. 

"Mr.  Fielding,  der  lady  must  go  below." 

"  Must !  " 

"Yaw,  by  Cott  !  I  vhas  skipper  for  dis  leedle  while.  You 
vhas  not  to  be  seen,  marm.  Dot  vhas  so  I  play  no  bart  mit  you 
on  deck." 

He  came  to  the  companion  way,  and  with  a  face  full  of  blood 
and  temper,  pointed  down  the  ladder,  exclaiming  in  his  deepest 


328  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  1 

thunder,  "  Quick,  if  you  please.     Doan'  be  afraid.     It  vhas  all 
right.     No  von  vhas  hurt  over  dis  shob." 

"  Go,"  said  I,  "do  as  he  bids  you.  See  how  those  fellows 
are  watching  us." 

She  obeyed  me  with  an  extraordinary  look  ;  the  expression 
of  a  naturally  fierce  spirit  contending  with  womanly  terror  ;  I'd 
think  of  it  afterward  always  as  if  the  girl  had  had  two  souls — 
one  of  flame,  a  gift  of  fighting  blood  older  than  the  Moors  per- 
haps ;  the  other  just  a  woman's. 

"  My  ladts,"  bawled  Bol  to  the  men,  "  keep  yourselves  out 
of  sight.  Aft  some  of  you,  und  standt  by  to  swing  der  topsail 
yard.     Manage  dot  your  heads  vhas  not  seen." 

Those  who  came  aft  and  those  who  stayed  forward  crouched 
under  the  bulwark  :  the  two  Spaniards  hid  with  the  others. 
Observing  this,  Bol  called  to  Antonio  : 

"  Oop  you  stand,  you  and  Jorge.     You  vhas  der  crew." 

They  stood  up,  looking  at  the  Dutchman  wonderingly,  with 
a  half  grin  that  was  pathetic.  I  began  to  smell  a  rat,  as  they 
say.  The  schooner  came  sliding  along,  and  when  she  was  within 
ear-shot  her  topsail  was  swung  and  she  halted  to  leeward  of 
us.  Her  crew  gazed  at  us  from  their  forecastle,  and  three  men 
stood  on  her  quarter-deck.  She  was  pierced  for  a  few  guns, 
but  her  ports  were  closed,  and  I  saw  no  pieces  of  any  sort  upon 
her  decks,  though  the  easy,  longdrawn  roll  of  her  gave  us  a 
good  sight  of  the  white  planks,  with  the  great  main  hatch  and 
a  tiny  smoking  caboose,  and  a  fellow  in  a  red  shirt  at  the  end 
of  the  long  tiller.  She  was  a  sweet  little  picture,  a  far  prettier 
model  than  the  brig,  handsomely  gilt  at  the  bow  and  quarter. 
"Lord  !  "  thought  I,  "if  I  could  but  make  those  men  yonder 
know  what  sort  of  stuff  we  carried  down  aft  and  the  piratic  trick 
those  crouching  scoundrels  and  that  vast  heap  of  flesh  called 
Bol  are  playing  me  !  "  Yet,  suppose  the  crew  should  permit  me 
to  shout  out  the  yarn,  would  yonder  chaps  board  us?  We  were 
nearly  as  numerous — ourlivelies  would  be  fighting  for  treasure 
dear  to  them  as  their  own  ruddy  drops  ;  and  look  at  our  little 
grin  of  carronades  and  those  long,  shining  engines  on  the  fore- 
castle and  aft ! 

Bol  got  on  to  a  gun.  One  of  the  men  on  the  schooner's 
quarter-deck  hailed. 

"  Ho,  der  brick  ahoy  !     Vhat  sheep  vhas  dot  ?  " 

It  was  the  hail  of  a  Dutch  voice  !  I  burst  into  a  laugh — I 
must  have  laughed  out  at  that  Dutch  hail  had  I  been  standing 
with  a  noose  round  my  neck  under  a  yardarm.     Yan  Bol  stood 


BOLS  RUSE.  339 

idly  straining  and  gaping  a  moment  or  two  when  he  heard  those 
Dutch  tones.  He  then  sent  his  deep  voice  across  the  water  in 
a  roar  : 

"She  vhas  ^tx  Black  Vatch  of  London  to  New  Holland." 

"Vat  vhas  wrong  mit  you  ?  "  shouted  the  Dutchman  in  the 
schooner. 

"  Ve  vhas  a  seek  ship  und  in  great  distress.  I  vill  sendt  a 
boat  to  you,  ash  I  vhas  veak  und  cannot  cry  out." 

He  floundered  off  the  carronade  on  to  the  deck,  and  rolling 
over  to  the  gangway,  called  to  the  two  Spaniards,  who  stood 
there  : 

"Ofer  mif  dis  boat.  Quick  now,  and  row  aboardt  dot 
schooner,  und  ask  him  to  take  you  home.  Der  rest,"  he  shouted 
with  a  look  fore  and  aft,  "keeps  hid  till  I  give  der  signal." 

The  bustle  of  the  burly  fellow  was  so  heavy  and  eager,  so 
much  of  elbow,  knee,  and  thrust  went  to  the  launching  of  that 
boat,  that  the  two  miserable  Spaniards  were  swept  into  the  job 
as  a  man  is  hurried  along  by  a  crowd.  They  scarce  knew  what 
they  were  to  do  even  while  they  were  doing  it ;  and  then  in  a 
minute  it  was  done,  the  boat  alongside,  and  Bol  bundling  both 
the  Spaniards  into  her  through  the  open  gangway. 

"  In  you  shoomps  !  Dot  vhas  der  vhay  !  Quick  !  If  dot 
schooner  vhas  missed  your  life  vhas  not  vorth  der  shirt  on  your 
pack.  Oop  mit  dem  oars,  Antonio,  und  shove  off.  Avays  you 
goes,  mit  our  respects  und  vill  der  captain  restore  you  to  your 
friendts  !  " 

I  went  to  the  side.  On  seeing  me  Antonio  who,  with  an  oar 
in  his  hand,  stood  up  in  the  boat  looking  along  the  line  of  the 
brig's  rail  with  a  wild,  pale  face,  cried  out  in  his  incommuni- 
cable English  : 

"Senor  Fielding,  do  not  let  Mr.  Bol  go  away  until  he  sees 
that  the  schooner  will  receive  us.  We  have  but  these  oars,"  he 
cried  passionately,  "no  water,  no  provisions." 

"  Pull  for  her — she'll  take  you,"  I  cried. 

"  Roundt  mit  der  topsail,"  thundered  Bol. 

The  seamen  sprang  to  the  braces,  and  in  a  very  few  moments 
had  filled  on  the  brig's  canvas.  The  vessel  sat  light  on  the 
water  and  quickly  felt  the  impulse  of  her  sails.  The  boat 
containing  Antonio  and  Jorge  slipped  astern  ;  the  two  wretches 
were  not  even  then  rowing  ;  but  the  moment  the  brig  got  way 
one  of  them — it  was  Jorge,  I  think — yelled  out  like  a  woman  ; 
they  threw  their  oars  out  and  hysterically  splashed  the  little  tub 
of  a  boat  toward  the  schooner. 


330  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

There  was  no  sea  to  hurt  them.  The  swell  ran  firm  and  wide, 
rippling  only  to  the  brushing  of  the  wind.  I  dreaded  lest  the 
schooner,  on  beholding  our  sudden  show  of  men,  should  suspect 
— what  with  our  visible  brass  pieces  and  the  suggestive  sheer  of 
our  hull — a  piratic  device,  and  make  off.  If  that  happened  the 
Spaniards  were  lost  ;  Bol  certainly  would  not  return  to  pick 
them  up.  The  mere  fancy  of  our  leaving  them  out  in  this  vast 
sea  to  horribly  perish  worked  in  me  like  ice  in  the  blood,  and  as 
I  watched  I  was  all  the  while  thinking,  "  What  shall  I  do  to 
save  them  if  yonder  schooner  fills  in  a  fright  ? " 

But  the  schooner  did  not  fill  ;  that  her  people  were  amazed 
by  our  behavior  I  could  not  question,  but  they  did  not  offer 
to  run  away.  Possibly  they  thought  we  were  executing  some 
maneuver,  and  would  shift  our  helm  presently  for  the  boat  we 
had  dispatched  to  them. 

The  Spaniards  splashed  along  in  their  passion  and  fury  of 
distress.  Their  boat  was  already  a  toy  ;  they  themselves  dolls. 
They  got  alongside  the  schooner,  and,  seizing  the  glass,  I 
watched  them  scramble  over  the  rail,  and  continued  to  watch. 
They  went  up  to  the  three  men  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  both 
fell  to  violently  gesticulating  and  pointing  at  us.  I  could  no 
longer  tell  which  was  which  ;  one  of  them  shook  his  fist  at  us, 
the  other  motioned  with  violent  dramatic  gestures  toward  the 
hold  of  the  schooner.  I  might  swear  he  was  telling  the  men 
about  the  dollars,  and  furiously  motioned  that  we  might  guess, 
if  we  watched  him  through  the  glass,  what  he  was  talking 
about. 

Bol  hauled  the  ensign  down,  and  called  to  a  man  to  roll 
it  up. 

"  Vhas  dot  a  neat  little  shob,  Mr.  Fielding  ?  "  said  he,  coming 
and  standing  beside  me. 

"Would  not  the  schooner  have  taken  the  men  without  all 
this  neatness?  "  I  answered. 

"  Maybe  and  maybe  not.     Ve  vhas  not  going  to  reesk  it." 

"You  have  lost  the  boat.  Why  did  you  require  the  lady 
to  leave  the  deck  ?  " 

"  She  vhas  soft-hearted,  und  dis  shob  vhas  to  be  neat  und 
quiet.  Look  !  "  he  roared  suddenly  ;  "  dere  swings  der  top- 
sails. Down  coomes  der  flag.  Gif  me  der  glass,  Mr.  Field- 
ing." He  put  his  eye  to  the  tube,  and  in  a  moment  bawled, 
"  Der  boat  drops  astern  ;  she  vhas  empty." 

He  pitched  the  glass  on  to  the  skylight  and  uttered  an  ex- 
traordinary roar  of  laughter. 


/  SCHEME.  331 

Half  an  hour  later  the  schooner  was  no  more  than  a  shaft  of 
white  light  down  in  the  west,  with  Yan  Bol  singing  out  orders 
to  trim  the  sails  of  the  brig  and  head  for  the  boat,  whose  bear- 
ings had  been  taken,  that  we  might  recover  her. 


CHAPTER  XXVni. 

I    SCHEME. 

Never  once  in  all  this  while,  and  my  story  is  covering  many 
days,  was  I  visited  by  the  palest  shadow  of  a  scheme  of  release. 
And  why  ?  Because  the  schatz — the  treasure — the  dollars  and 
I  were  one.  All  plans  of  escape  provided  that  I  left  my  dol- 
lars behind  me.  But  I  wanted  my  money.  I  had  lived  in  a 
golden  dream.  The  abandonment  of  the  treasure  was  an  un- 
endurable consideration.  I  believe  I  could  have  faced  death 
on  board  that  brig  with  something  of  coolness.  The  contem- 
plation of  it  would  not  have  been  frightful  ;  the  calling  of  the 
sea  hardens  the  sensibilities  and  accustoms  the  soul  to  more 
things  than  the  wonders  of  the  Lord  ;  but  I  could  not  consider 
with  coolness  the  idea  of  the  men  possessing  themselves  of  the 
fifteen  tons  of  silver,  burying  the  half-million  dollars  in  the 
Island  of  Amsterdam,  then  perhaps  being  unable  to  find  out 
where  they  had  hidden  the  money,  or  hindered  by  who  knows 
what  of  the  unforeseen  from  ever  getting  to  the  island 
again. 

I  say  I  fell  half  mad  whenever  my  head  ran  on  that  forecastle 
device.  The  thought  of  it  regularly  threw  me  into  a  fever.  I 
have  walked  my  cabin  for  a  whole  glass  or  watch  at  a  time,  as 
bad  a  murderer  as  any  man  can  well  be  in  heart  only,  killing 
the  crew  in  imagination  over  and  over. 

Yet  not  the  leanest  vision  of  a  scheme  offered  itself.  Sup- 
pose I  had  attempted  to  recapture  the  brig  by  slaughtering  the 
men  after  the  manner  proposed  by  Miss  Aurora  ;  by  her  stab- 
bing them  in  the  cabin  while  I  engaged  their  attention,  and 
then  by  her  and  me  shooting  the  others  ;  suppose  this  wild, 
ridiculous,  horrid  proposal  practicable — all  the  crew  being 
hove  over  the  side — wliat  was  I  to  do  with  the  brig,  I,  whose 
assistants  would  be  a  woman  and  a  tall,  clumsy,  idiotic  lad  ? 
Navigate  her  to  the  nearest  port  ?  Ay,  but  that  was  just  what 
I  durst  not  do  if  I  wished  to  keep  my  dollars.  Greaves  had 
been  strong  on  this  point  ;  he'd  touch  nowhere — rather  reduce 
all  hands  to  quarter  allowance  than  touch,  lest  by  entering  or 


332  LIST,    VE   landsmen  ! 

hovering  off  a  port  he'd  court  a  visit  that  should  carry  him 
every  dollar  ashore. 

Well,  then,  since  I  dared  not  convey  the  brig  to  a  port,  was 
I  to  wash  about  the  sea  with  Miss  Aurora  and  Jimmy  for  my 
crew,  until  I  fell  in  with  a  ship  willing  to  put  me  two  or  three 
men  aboard  ?  Yes,  that  sounds  nicely  ;  but  what  would  be  the 
risks  before  we  fell  in  with  a  ship  willing  to  assist  ?  Many  days, 
many  weeks  might  pass  before  we  sighted  a  sail,  for  I  am  writ- 
ing of  the  year  1815,  when  the  ocean  we  were  afloat  on  ran  for 
countless  leagues  bare  to  the  sky,  nearly  all  the  traffic  steering 
northward,  Mozambique  way. 

But  what  was  the  good  of  this  sort  of  speculation  ?  The 
crew  were  alive  ;  I  was  one  to  ten  ;  I  was  without  an  idea  ; 
and  every  day  was  diminishing  something  of  the  meridians  be- 
twixt us  and  the  Island  of  New  Amsterdam. 

I  did  not  in  this  time  give  Miss  Aurora  a  lesson  in  English. 
I  do  not  remember  that  she  asked  me  to  give  her  a  lesson. 
We  had  many  long  earnest  conversations  about  our  situation, 
by  which  she  profited,  for  I  spoke  mainly  in  ray  own  tongue. 
She  did  not  favor  me  with  another  song,  she  nevermore  asked 
for  the  fiddle,  nor  did  it  once  occur  to  me  to  request  her  to 
oblige  me  with  a  recital  in  the  rich  and  beautiful  tongue  of  her 
nation.  Yet  she  was  now  speaking  English  very  fairly  well. 
She  was  seldom  at  a  loss,  and  conversation  was  easy  without 
signs,  nods,  or  gesticulations,  saving  an  occasional  shrug  of 
her  shoulders,  the  naturally  impassioned  action  of  her  hands 
when  she  talked  eagerly  and  hotly,  and  the  many  expressions 
of  face  which  accompanied  her  speech. 

She  did  not  again  offer  to  assassinate  Bol  and  the  others  ; 
she  had  read  in  my  face  what  I  thought  of  that  proposal,  and 
her  fiery  and  scornful  flinging  from  me  because  I  would  not 
consent  was  a  flare  of  temper  that  was  out  before  we  next  met. 
On  one  occasion,  however,  we  quarreled  rather  warmly,  and  I 
was  sulky  with  her  afterward  for  some  days.  She  told  me  that 
I  thought  more  of  my  dollars  than  of  her  life.  I  colored  up 
and  answered  that  that  was  not  true  ;  I  valued  her  life,  and 
would  restore  her  to  her  friends  if  I  could  ;  but  I  also  valued 
my  dollars.  I  had  worked  hard  for  them,  and  was  not  to  be 
robbed  by  the  blackguards  forward  of  a  considerable  for- 
tune. 

*'  You  think  only  of  your  dollars,"  said  she  ;  "  you  do  not 
scheme,  because  your  dollars  are  in  the  way  of  every  idea.  Is 
this  how  an    English   cavalier  should  treat  a  poor,  unhappy, 


/  SCHEME.  333 

shipwrecked  lady  ?  Sefior  Fielding,  I  should  be  first  with  you  ; 
nothing  should  occupy  your  attention  but  the  resolution  to  re- 
lease me  from  this  horrid  situation  and  the  dangers  which  lie 
before  us  ;  "  and  then  she  towered  with  her  figure,  and  swelled 
her  breast  and  flashed  her  eyes  at  me. 

There  was  more  of  truth  in  her  words  than  I  relished  to  hear 
from  her  lips,  and  it  was  this  perhaps  that  angered  me.  I 
begged  her  to  advise  ;  she  shrugged  her  shoulders,  and  with  an 
arch  sneer  whicli  rather  improved  than  deformed  her  beauty, 
said  that  if  I  were  a  Spanish  sailor  I  would  be  ashamed  to 
ask  counsel  of  a  woman. 

"If  I  were  a  Spanish  sailor  I  would  be  ashamed  of  myself," 
I  said. 

"  Why  do  you  not  scheme  to  release  us  .'" 

"  Scheme  to  release  us  ?  Shall  I  blow  up  the  brig  ?  That 
will  make  an  end." 

"  It  would  not  be  the  Senorita  Aurora,  but  the  Cavalier 
Fielding  and  his  Spanish  dollars  which  would  hinder  that," 
said  she. 

"  If,  by  jumping  overboard  and  swimming,  I  could  put  you 
in  the  way  of  reaching  Madrid,  I'd  do  so,"  said  I  ;  "  but  it's  a 
long  swim  hereabouts  to  anywhere." 

"You  would  not  jump  overboard  and  leave  your  dollars,"  said 
she,  "  If  you  were  the  gallant  and  respectable  gentleman  I  have 
long  supposed  you,  you  would  think  of  nothing  but  my  deliver- 
ance. Why  am  I  to  be  carried  away  to  the  extreme  ends  of 
the  world  ?  What  is  to  become  of  me  when  your  odious  Hol- 
landers and  Englishmen  have  wrecked  this  brig  ?"  and  here 
she  sank  upon  the  table  and  sobbed. 

"  What  am  I  to  do  ?"  I  cried,  not  greatly  moved  by  her  tears; 
indeed,  I  was  too  angry  with  her  to  be  affected  by  her  sobs.  I  had 
used  lier  very  kindly  ;  I  had  never  failed  in  such  rough  sea 
courtesy  as  my  profession  permitted  me  the  poor  art  of  ;  I  did 
not  like  her  sneers  at  my  love  for  my  dollars  ;  and  I  less  liked  the 
y)inchortwoof  tart  truth  that  acidulated  her  language.  "  What 
am  I  to  do  ?  "  I  cried.  "  Bol  will  not  tranship  you.  He'll  speak 
no  more  vessels  now  the  two  Spaniards  are  gone.  I  can't 
sneak  you  away  in  a  boat.  Let  any  land  but  that  of  Amster- 
dam Island  heave  into  view  and  the  sailors  will  slit  my  throat. 
Why  do  you  lie  sobbing  upon  that  table,  madam?  Pray,  hold 
up  your  head  and  listen  to  me.  What  was  your  scheme,  pray  ? 
A  hideous  one,  indeed  ;  and  one  that  would  not  profit  us  either. 
It  would  fail,  were  we  devils  enough  to  attempt  it :  and  then 


334  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

God  help  you  and  me  !  Many  are  the  saints,  but  none  would 
then  be  powerful  enough  to  serve  you." 

She  raised  her  head.  The  fire  in  her  eyes  was  by  no  means 
dimmed  by  her  tears.  Her  sobbing  and  posture  had  reddened 
her  cheeks. 

"  The  navigation  of  this  brig  is  in  your  hands.  Wreck  her  ! " 
she  exclaimed. 

"  And  be  drowned  ?  " 

"  Wreck  her  in  such  a  way  that  we  shall  not  be  drowned." 

''Come,  you  shall  not  teach  me  my  business.  If  I  am  not  a 
Spanish  sailor,  I'll  not  take  counsel  of -a  woman  either." 

She  snapped  her  fingers  at  me,  and  showed  her  teeth  in  an 
angry  smile  ;  turned,  and  I  thought  was  going  to  her  berth. 
Instead,  she  stopped  and  looked  at  me  over  her  shoulder, 
made  a  step,  and  her  whole  manner  changed.  Her  demeanor 
was,  all  of  a  sudden,  a  sort  of  wild  tenderness.  Why  do  I  call 
it  that?  Because  it  suggested — the  memory  of  it  still  suggests 
— the  moment's  sportiveness  of  a  tigress  with  its  young.  Her 
eyes  softened  :  her  face  grew  sweet  with  a  look  of  pleading  ; 
she  put  herself  into  a  posture  of  entreaty,  her  hands  out- 
stretched and  figure  a  little  stooped.  Acting,  or  no  acting,  it 
was  as  good  as  good  can  be.  You  would  have  said  she  loved 
me  had  you  watched  her  eyes.  The  contrast  between  the 
rascally  snap  of  the  finger  and  this  pose  of  appeal  was  sharp 
and  strong  ;  but  Jiow  mean  that  stage  for  so  rich  a  performance 
— the  lifting,  uncarpeted  deck  of  a  little,  plain,  ship's  cabin, 
with  its  austere  furniture  of  table  and  lockers,  and  a  skylight 
bleared  with  the  grayness  of  the  day  without  ? 

"Senor  Fielding,  let  vie  be  first  with  you." 

Another  reference  to  the  dollars  !  It  vexed  me  greatly,  and 
saying,  "It  always  has  been  so,"  I  gave  her  a  cool  bow  and 
went  on  deck. 

We  had  quarreled  before,  but  lightly,  for  the  most  part,  and 
were  friends  again  in  an  hour.  This  quarrel,  however,  ran  into 
two  or  three  days.  She  would  not  leave  me  alone.  Did  I 
mean  to  scheme  for  our  salvation  ?  Was  she  to  be  first  with 
me  ?  Was  I  ashamed  of  myself  to  be  devoured  by  avarice  ? 
What  was  the  good  of  dollars  to  a  dying  man  ?  and  was  I  not 
a  dying  man  if  I  did  not  rescue  her  and  myself  from  the  crew 
of  the  brig  ?  I  don't  say  she  used  all  the  words  I  put  into  her 
mouth.  No  ;  she  was  not  so  fluent  then  as  all  that  ;  but  I  un- 
derstood her  very  easily — rather  too  easily — when  she  sneered 
at  me  for  thinking  more  of  my  dollars  than  of  her. 


/  SCHEME.  335 

Finding^however,  that  I  continued  resolutely  sulky,  answer- 
ing her  shortly,  passing  through  the  cabin  instead  of  sitting 
with  her  as  before  and  talking,  she  grew  alarnmed,  felt  that  she 
had  said  too  much,  and  made  her  peace.  She  made  her  peace 
by  coming  to  my  cabin.  I  was  looking  at  a  chart  of  the  South- 
ern Ocean  when  somebody  knocked.     My  lady  entered. 

"  Ave  Maria  !  What  will  you  think  of  me  for  coming  to  you 
thus  and  here  ?  But  my  heart  is  too  full  of  remorse  for  patience. 
Blessed  Virgin  !  How  long  is  half  an  hour  when  one  is  im- 
patient :  And  I  have  been  waiting  for  half  an  hour  outside  in 
the  cabin.  I  have  angered  you,  and  lam  sorry.  You  have  been 
good  to  me,  and  you  are  my  friend.  And  how  do  I  show  my 
gratitude  ?  Forgive  me,  sehor  ;  "  and  with  that  she  put  out 
her  hand. 

It  was  very  true  than  Yan  Bol  had  declared  the  men  would 
speak  no  ship  until  the  silver  was  out  of  the  brig.  And  in 
my  opinion  they  were  right.  As  we  made  for  the  Island  of 
New  Amsterdam  we  increased  the  chance  of  falling  in  with 
war-ships  and  privateers.  For  Amsterdam  Island  is  in  the 
Indian  Ocean,  at  the  southern  limit  of  those  waters,  it  is  true, 
and  in  those  times  many  vagabond  vessels  were  to  be  found  in 
the  Indian  Ocean  on  the  lookout  for  the  big  rich  ships,  tlie  tea 
waggons  and  spice  and  silk  carriers  bound  to  and  from  China 
and  the  Indies. 

But  it  so  happened  that  after  we  had  lost  sight  of  the  little 
schooner  which  had  taken  the  two  Spaniards  aboard,  we  met 
with  no  other  sail — none,  I  mean,  within  reach  of  the  bunting 
or  speaking  trumpet.  At  long  intervals  a  tip  of  white  showed 
in  some  blue  recess  of  that  sea,  infinitely  remote,  pale  as  a  little 
light  that  lives  and  dies  and  lives  again  while  you  look.  Never 
before  had  the  measurelessness  of  the  ocean  affected  me  as 
now.  The  spirits  of  vastness  and  loneliness  which  came  shap- 
ing themselves  to  the  imagination  out  of  those  month-wide 
breasts  and  secret  solitudes  of  brine  grew  overwhelming  to  the 
mind — to  my  mind  I  should  say  ;  and  often  of  a  night  when 
the  deck  was  quiet  and  the  sea  black  and  the  stars  were  shin- 
ing, I'd  feel  the  oppression  of  a  mighty  presence — of  something 
huge  and  near. 

And  then  consider  the  doses  of  salt  water  I  had  swallowed 
and  was  yet  swallowing  !  I  was  fresh  from  very  many  months  of 
the  sea  when  I  was  picked  up  off  an  oar  in  the  Channel  and  swept 
outward  again  into  the  world  where  the  salt  spits  like  a  wild- 
cat, and  where  the  sound  of  the  wind  is  not  as  its  noise  ashore  ; 


33^  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

and  I  was  still  at  sea  with  months  of  water  before  me  in  any 
case  if  I  was  not  put  an  end  to. 

So,  even  had  the  crew  been  willing  to  speak  a  ship  that  the 
lady  Aurora  might  be  transferred,  no  opportunity  to  do  so  came 
along;  nothing  hove  in  sight  but  a  star  of  sail  in  the  liquid 
distance,  and  this  only  at  long,  long  intervals. 

I'll  not  tell  you  of  the  weather  we  fell  in  with  between  Cape 
Horn  and  the  distant  island  we  were  steering  for  ;  what  do 
you  care  about  the  weather  and  the  weather  of  so  long  ago  as 
Waterloo  year  ?  Otherwise  I  could  fill  you  several  pages  with 
pictures  of  hard  gales,  in  one  of  which  the  brig  lay  for  a  wild, 
terrifying  time  with  her  lee  rail  under,  her  hull  scarce  to  be  seen 
for  the  smother  that  filled  her  decks,  and  I  could  please  you 
with  pictures  of  soft  calms  in  which  our  stem  tranquilly  broke 
the  cold  gray  water  that  reflected  on  either  hand  of  the  vessel 
the  silver  sheen  of  her  overhanging  wings  ;  and  I  could  give 
you  pictures  of  merry  breezes  that  swept  us  onward  fast  as  the 
melting  head  of  the  blue  surge  itself  ran.     Enough  ! 

One  afternoon  I  sat  upon  the  edge  of  the  skylight  frame  with 
my  arms  folded  and  my  eyes  fixed  upon  the  sea.  The  sun  was 
warm,  the  breeze  brisk.  A  pleasanter  day  had  not  shone  upon 
us  for  a  fortnight  past.  My  lady  Aurora  seated  on  a  cabin 
chair  at  a  little  distance  from  me  was  intent  on  an  English 
book,  one  of  the  new  volumes  which  had  belonged  to  Greaves, 
Her  posture  was  very  easy  and  reposeful ;  her  dark  eyes  wan- 
dered slowly  down  the  printed  page  ;  often  she  was  puzzled  by 
the  meaning  of  a  word  and  frowned  at  it  ;  you  would  have 
supposed  her  a  person  without  a  single  cause  for  anxiety,  a 
lady  who  was  sailing  to  her  home,  which  might  now  not  be  very 
far  off. 

Yan  Bol  was  in  charge.  He  had  been  standing  for  some 
considerable  time  beside  the  wheel,  occasionally  exchang- 
ing a  sentence  in  guttural  Dutch  with  Wirtz,  who  held  the 
spokes.  At  last  he  came  along  the  deck  and  stood  in  front 
of  me. 

"  Vhat  might  hov  been  der  situation  of  der  brick  at  noon,  Mr. 
Fielding  ?  "  he  inquired. 

I  gave  him  the  ship's  place. 

"  Dot  vhas  close  !  "  he  said. 

"  It  was,"  I  answered. 

"  Donnerwetter  !  "  he  thundered,  "  der  island  vhas  aboardt !" 
and  he  looked  ahead  at  the  sea  as  though  he  expected  to  behold 
the  Island  of  New  Amsterdam. 


/   SCHEME.  337 

The  lady  Aurora,  leaving  the  book  opened  upon  her  lap, 
raised  her  eyes  and  listened. 

"  How  close  vhas  der  island,  Mr.  Fielding?" 

"  Roughly,  sixty  leagues." 

"  Den,  she  vhas  here  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  That  is  as  the  wind  wills,"  said  I. 

He  went  forward  by  twenty  or  thirty  paces,  and  putting  his 
hand  to  the  side  of  his  mouth — not  that  his  voice  should  carry 
the  better,  but  to  qualify  the  liberty  he  was  taking  by  making 
an  "aside"  of  it,  so  to  speak,  to  the  eye — he  called  to  Galen, 
Meehan,  and  two  others  who  were  on  forecastle  : 

**  Poys,  she  vhas  here  to-morrow.  Der  distance  vhas  sixty 
leagues  at  dinner-time." 

Galen  accepted  the  news  with  a  heavy  Dutch  flourish  of  his 
hand.  Yan  Bol  returned  to  me.  In  the  minute  or  two  of  his 
going  forward  I  had  been  thinking,  and  with  the  swiftness  of 
thought  had  concluded  to  ask  him  certain  questions. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  bury  the  silver  ?  " 

"  Dot  vhas  der  scheme." 

"  You  will  need  to  dig  wide  and  deep  if  your  pit  is  to  con- 
tain all  those  cases." 

"  Yaw,  dot  vhas  so." 

"  What  are  you  going  to  dig  your  pit  with  ?  " 

"  Dere  vhas  two  shovels  in  der  fore-peak.  Whateffer  else 
vhas  useful  ve  takes  mit  us." 

"  Do  you  object  to  my  asking  you  these  questions  ?  " 

"  Nine,  nine,  Mr.  Fielding,"  he  answered,  "you  vhas  von  of 
us,  ve  hope.  Two  tons  of  der  silver  vhas  yours.  Vhas  it  not 
right  you  should  know  vhat  vhas  to  become  of  her  ?  " 

"  Then,  since  in  all  probability  we  shall  be  off  the  island 
some  time  to-morrow,  I'd  be  glad  to  hear  now  how  you  mean 
to  go  to  work.  I  have  asked  no  questions  before.  I  had  ex- 
pected that  you  would  come  to  me  with  your  arrangements,  and 
for  advice," 

"  Vhat  advice  vhas  vanted  ?  A  man  vhas  green  dot  requires 
to  be  learnthow  to  make  a  hole  in  der  earth,  und  put  his  money 
into  it,  und  cover  it  oop." 

"  You  will  need  to  make  a  very  big  pit." 

"  Yaw,  she  vhas  a  wide  und  deep  pit  dot  ve  dig." 
"  How  long  d'ye  reckon  that  it  will  take  you  to  dig  that  pit 
with  such  tools  as  you  have  ?" 

"  Dere  vhas  no  reckoning.  Ve  gets  ashore  und  falls  ter 
verk." 


338  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

The  lady  Aurora  closed  her  book,  arose,  brought  her  chair 
close  to  the  skylight,  and  reseated  herself.  Bol  looked  at  her, 
then  fastened  his  eyes  upon  me. 

"  Am  I  to  be  left  in  charge  of  the  brig  ?  " 

"  You  vhas,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"What  of  a  crew  do  you  mean  to  allow  me  ?  It  may  come 
on  to  blow  hard  while  you  are  on  shore." 

*'  Dere  vhas  crew  enough,"  said  he,  with  a  queer  expression 
in  his  eyes. 

"  How  many  ?  "  I  demanded  sternly. 

"  Dere  vhas  four,  und  dere  vhas  der  ladt,  Jiin.  Dot  vhas 
men  enough  for  der  braces,"  said  he,  looking  up  at  the  sails. 

"  Four  men  and  the  boy,"  said  I  aloud  and  musingly  ; 
**  well,  I  daresay  I  shall  be  able  to  manage  with  four  men  and 
the  boy." 

*'  Dere  vhas  yourself  to  gount." 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  forget  myself.  Do  you  take  charge  of  the 
landing  and  burial  of  the  money?" 

"  Yaw,  me  himself.     I  likes  to  know  vhere  she  lies." 

"  You  will  pull  around  the  island  and  reconnoiter  first,  I  sup- 
pose, before  you  land  ?  " 

"  Vhat  vhas  dot  ?  " 

"  Before  landing  the  silver  you  will  take  care  to  make  sure 
there  is  nobody  upon  the  island  ?  Thai's  what  I  mean.  Risk 
your  own  share,  if  you  like,  but  my  two  tons  must  lie  till  I  fetch 
them." 

"She  vhas  an  uninhabited  island  mitout  house  or  foodt. 
Dot  vhas  certain  sure.  But  we  foorst  takes  a  look,  Mr.  Field- 
ing.    Oh,  yaw,  by  Cott,  we  foorst  takes  a  look." 

"You  have  come  a  thundering  long  way  to  hide  this  money." 
He  nodded.  "And  there's  the  devil's  own  trouble  to  be  taken 
afterward.  First  the  voyage  from  here  to  Sydney  ;  then  the 
trusting  of  Teach's  friend.  Max  Lampton,  with  this  big,  rich 
secret ;  then  supposing  that  to  prove  all  right,  the  return  to 
Amsterdam  Island — this  fine  brig,  meanwhile,  having  been  cast 
away — in  some  crazy  little  schooner,  with  the  risks  of  a  trip  to 
New  Holland  in  a  bottom  that  may  drop  out  under  the  weight 
of  fifteen  tons  of  silver." 

"  Ve  vhas  not  all  dom'd  fools,"  said  he,  with  a  slow  smile  ; 
"dere  vhas  no  grazy  bottoms  mit  us.  Dis  brig  vhas  fine,  yaw," 
said  he,  with  a  leisurely  look  round  the  deck,  "  but  she  must 

go.;  ^ 

"  It's  the  maddest   scheme  that  even  sailors    ever    lighted 


/  SCHEME.  339 

upon,"  said  I,  "but  let's  have  the  rest  of  it.  Having  dug  your 
pit  you  come  back  for  the  cargo  ?  " 

"Yaw." 

"  It  may  take  you  a  day  to  dig  your  pit." 

"  And  b'raps  two,"  said  he. 

"  You  will  load  about  four  tons  a  journey." 

"  Call  her  five,"  said  he. 

Here  I  observed  that  Galen,  Teach,  and  one^  or  two  others 
having  observed  the  big  Dutchman  and  me  close  and  earnest, 
yet  very  audible  in  this  talk,  had  approached  with  sneaking 
steps  to  within  earshot,  where  they  feigned  to  occupy  them- 
selves, one  in  coiling  down  a  rope,  another  in  dipping  for  a 
drink  out  of  the  scuttle-butt,  and  so  on.  This  decided  me  to 
drop  the  subject. 

I  walked  to  a  corner  of  the  deck  called  the  starboard 
quarter,  and  folding  my  arms  leaned  against  the  bulwarks.  A 
dim  and  faint  idea  had  come  to  me  in  those  few  instants  of 
time  when  Yan  Bol  went  forward  and  called  out  to  his  mates 
on  the  forecastle  with  his  immense,  hairy,  square  hand  beside 
his  mouth,  and  this  idea  had  slightly  brightened  while  I  ques- 
tioned him.  It  was  an  idea  that  would  be  quite  glorious  if 
successful  ;  otherwise  it  would  be  a  forlorn  and  beggarly  idea, 
a  treacherous,  cut-throat  idea,  exactly  fit  to  play  my  heavy 
stake  of  silver  and  the  Spanish  maid  into  the  hands  of  the  men, 
and  to  secure  me  the  quickest  exit  that  could  be  contrived  by 
the  knife  or  the  yardarm. 

Madam  Aurora  watched  me.  I  wish  you  were  a  man,  thought 
I.  Are  you  a  person  to  fail  one  in  a  supremely  critical  hour? 
You  offered  to  stick  three  men  in  the  back  ;  have  you  the 
courage  to  stick  one  man  face  to  face  ? 

I  regarded  her  steadfastly,  reflecting.  I  better  remember 
her  on  that  particular  afternoon  than  at  any  former  time. 
Would  you  like  to  know  how  she  was  dressed  ?  I  will  tell  you 
exactly.  She  wore  a  seaman's  plain  cloth  jacket,  fitted  by 
her  own  hands  to  her  figure  ;  it  sat  well  and  was  tight 
and  comfortable  for  those  latitudes.  She  wore  the  dress  she 
had  been  clad  in  when  we  took  her  off  the  island  ;  she  had 
turned  it,  or  in  some  fashion  rearranged  it,  and  it  was  no 
longer  the  hideous  garment  I  had  thought  it.  She  wore  a 
cloth  cap  ;  it  sat  like  a  turban  upon  her  thick,  black  hair, 
and  laugh  now,  if  you  will !  she  wore  a  pair  of  sailor's  shoes, 
whence  you  will  guess  that  what  grace X)f  littleness  she  had,  lay 
in  those  hands  of  hers  I  have  admired  so  often.     Not  at  all. 


340  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

Her  foot  was  perfectly  proportioned  to  her  hand.  She  had 
small,  delicately-shaped,  highly-arched,  and  altogether  lovely 
feet.  The  shoes  she  wore  I  had  found  in  the  second  of  the 
slop-chests  ;  they  were  embellished  with  buckles  ;  the  Dutch 
shopman  probably  stowed  them  away  by  mistake  ;  they  might 
have  been  designed  for  some  dandy  lad  of  a  Batavian  quarter- 
deck ;  they  were  small,  and  small  they  must  have  been,  for 
they  fitted  Aurora. 

This  is  the  picture  of  her  as  she  sat,  intently  regarded  by  me, 
who  lay  against  the  rail  with  folded  arms,  deeply  considering. 
Teach  and  the  others  had  sneaked  forward  again.  Bol  stumped 
the  weather  gangway.  He  was  usually  respectful  enough,  when- 
ever I  came  on  deck,  to  carry  his  vast  carcass  to  a  humbler  part 
of  the  brig  than  I  occupied.  Miss  Aurora  rose  and  walked  up 
to  me. 

"  What  are  you  thinking  about  ?"  said  she,  speaking  in  her 
own  way,  a  way  I  have  not  yet  attempted  to  write,  and  shall 
not  here  give.     "  Do  1  look  ill,  that  you  stare  at  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  thinking." 

"  I  am  not  blind.  I  might  suppose  I  saw  mischief  in  your 
face,  if  I  thought  you  capable  of  mischief." 

A  pair  of  slow  but  shrewd  Dutch  eyes,  and  a  pair  of  big  but 
attentive  Dutch  ears  overtopped  the  spokes  of  the  wheel.  I 
made  her  glance  at  Wirtz  by  myself  looking  at  him.  She 
understood  the  meaning  in  my  face,  and  returned  to  her  chair. 
I  crossed  the  deck,  and  passing  my  arm  round  a  lee  backstay, 
gazed  at  the  horizon  ahead,  thinking  with  all  my  might. 

I  remained  on  deck  about  half  an  hour,  and  then  went  below. 
I  took  a  book  out  of  the  shelf  in  my  berth,  and  seated  myself 
at  the  ca])in  table,  as  far  removed  as  possible  from  the  skylight, 
but  not  out  of  sight  of  one  who  should  peer  through  the  glass  ; 
the  size  of  the  cabin  did  not  admit  of  such  concealment.  After 
the  lapse  of  a  few  minutes  I  was  joined  by  Miss  Aurora,  who 
pulled  off  her  cap  and  placed  herself  beside  me. 

There  could  be  nothing  suspicious  in  our  sitting  close  together. 
Many  a  time  had  we  sat  very  close  together  indeed,  at  that 
cabin  table,  under  the  skylight,  when  I  was  teaching  her  to 
speak  the  English  language,  and  wondering  whether,  under 
other  circumstances,  I  should  discover  myself  to  be  rather  in 
love  with  this  fine  young  Spanish  woman  ;  and  many  a  time 
had  the  men  looked  down  and  observed  us,  and  grinned,  I 
have  no  doubt,  and  uttered  such  remarks,  one  to  another,  as  the 
very  low  level  of  their  forecastle  intelligence  would  suggest. 


/  SCHEME.  341 

"  What  has  caused  you  to  stare  at  me,  Senor  Fielding  ?  " 

"  I  have  wished  to  satisfy  myself  that  you  are  to  be  trusted." 

"  Ave  Maria  !  Trusted  !  Do  not  wrap  up  your  meaning. 
I  dislike  people  who  wrap  up  their  meaning." 

"Could  you  kill  a  man?" 

"  For  my  honor  and  for  my  liberty,  yes,"  she  replied  after  a 
short  silence,  rearing  herself  in  her  swelling  way,  and  flashing 
one  of  her  wicked  looks  at  me. 

"  Would  you  faint  when  you  had  killed  him  ?  ''  « 

Her  manner  instantly  changed.  She  slightly  shrugged  her 
shoulders  and  answered,  "  A  little  thing  has  made  me  faint. 
At  Acapulco  I  slept  at  a  friend's  house.  I  awoke,  and  by  the 
moonlight  saw  a  mouse  upon  my  bed,  after  which  I  remember 
no  more.  But  nothing  heroic,  nothing  exalted  in  horror,  would 
make  me  faint,  I  think.  I  could  look  upon  a  man  slain  by  me 
for  my  liberty  or  for  my  honor  without  swooning."  This  was, 
in  effect,  her  answer  to  my  question. 

"  Have  you  ever  killed  a  man  ? "  said  I. 

"  No,"  she  answered  hotly  ;  "but  when  he  is  ready  for  me  I 
shall  be  ready  for  him  ;  "  and,  unbuttoning  the  breast  of  her 
coat,  she  thrust  her  hand  into  the  pocket  of  her  gown  and 
pulled  out  a  poniard  or  stiletto.  It  was  a  blue,  gleaming  blade, 
about  seven  or  eight  inches  lon'g,  sheathed  in  bright  metal,  with 
a  little  ivory  hilt  that  sparkled  with  some  sort  of  embellishment 
of  gem  or  ore.  In  all  the  time  we  had  been  associated  she  had 
never  once  given  me  to  know  that  she  went  armed  ;  but  I 
afterward  discovered  she  was  a  young  woman  who  knew  how 
to  keep  a  secret. 

"  Hide  that  thing  !  "  I  cried  with  a  glance  at  the  skylight. 

She  pocketed  it,  giving  me  a  fiery  nod.  "Never,"  said  she, 
"  have  you  asked  me  whetlier  I  was  afraid  to  be  alone  with 
Jorge  and  Antonio  on  the  island.  Vaya  !  Do  your  English 
ladies  secrete  knives  about  them  ?  It  is  a  wise  custom.  But 
you  wish  to  find  out  if  I  am  to  be  trusted,  if  I  can  kill  a  man 
for  my  liberty  or  for  my  honor.  Try  me,"  she  cried,  snapping 
her  finger  as  she  waved  her  hand  close  to  my  face. 

"  I  have  a  sclieme,"  said  I,  "  for  getting  away  with  the  treas- 
ure and  the  brig  and  you." 

"  The  treasure  first,"  she  exclaimed,  smiling  till  her  face 
looked  to  be  lighted  up  with  her  white  teeth.  "You  Avill 
have  to  be  quick.  Is  not  to-morrow  the  day  of  your  Amster- 
dam Island  ?  " 

"  Ask  the  wind  that  question,"  I  answered. 


342  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

"  What  is  your  scheme  ? " 

"  It  is  a  magnificent  scheme  providing  it  succeeds.  If  it 
does  not  succeed  better  had  we  never  been  born.  Shall  we  des- 
perately attempt  it  ?  " 

"  Qti^  es  eso — what  is  it  ?  what  is  it  ?  "  she  cried  ;  and  then 
a  passion  of  excitement  seized  her,  and  her  hands  trembled. 

"  I  will  tell  you  the  scheme  in  a  minute.  It  depends  not 
upon  me  and  you  only.  I  shall  require  the  help  of  the  lad, 
Jimm'y.     Is  he  to  be  trusted?" 

"Your  scheme — your  scheme  !  " 

"Is  he  to  be  trusted?"  I  continued,  feigning  to  read  aloud 
from  the  book  that  was  before  me,  for  I  had  thought  I  heard  a 
man  stop  in  his  walk  overhead.  "My  scheme  is  not  to  be  thought 
of  unless  this  youth  will  help  us.  You  are  a  very  observant 
lady.     I  have  often  seen  you  look  attentively  at  Jimmy." 

"  Vaya!  If  I  have  looked  at  him  it  was  without  thought, 
and  because  I  had  nothing  else  to  do.  What  a  face  to  gaze 
at  attentively  !  " 

"  Do  you  think  he  is  to  be  trusted  ?" 

"You  continue  to  ask  me  that  question,"  she  exclaimed,  pet- 
ulantly twisting  her  prayer-ring  as  though  hotly  engaged  in  the 
aves.  "  First  tell  me  your  scheme,  and  then  I  will  give  you  ray 
opinion  on  Jimmy's  trustworthiness." 

On  this,  feigning  to  read  aloud  to  her  while  I  talked,  that 
anyone  above  might  suppose  we  were  at  our  old  game  of 
playing  at  school,  I  communicated  my  scheme  to  her.  A  scheme 
it  was :  a  distinct  idea  and  project  of  deliverance  ;  but  several 
conditions,  partly  of  chance,  partly  of  contrivance,  must  attend 
its  success.  She  listened  eagerly,  never  removing  her  eyes  from 
me,  and  once  she  was  so  well  pleased  that  she  clapped  her 
hands  and  fell  back  with  a  loud  laugh.  This  was  not  a  behavior 
to  object  to.  No  man,  warily  observing  us,  would  guess  our 
talk,  the  significance  of  this  long  and  intimate  cabin  consulta- 
tion, from  the  hard  laughter  of  the  seilorita,  and  the  merry 
noise  of  the  clapping  of  her  hands.  In  truth  I  never  could 
have  imagined  such  spirit  in  a  woman.  She  had  clapped  her 
hands  at  the  one  feature  whose  disclosure  would  have  turned 
another  woman  faint,  she  being  to  act  in  it.  It  was  this  stroke 
of  our  projected  business  that  had  made  the  cabin  ring  with 
her  laughter. 

"  How  long  will  the  work  occupy  ? "  said  I. 

"  It  matters  not,"  she  answered.  "  I  will  take  no  rest  until 
I  have  finished  it." 


/  SCHEME.  343 

"You  will  not,  however,  begin  until  I  have  talked  with 
Jimmy  ?  If  I  see  reason  to  distrust  him,  we  must  think  of 
another  plan." 

"Promise  him  plenty  of  dollars  if  he  is  faithful,"  said  she, 
"and  threaten  him  with  death  if  he  fails  you." 

We  continued  for  some  time  longer  to  talk  over  ray  scheme. 
I  then  walked  to  the  stand  of  arms,  and  looked,  with  much  irres- 
olution in  my  mind,  at  the  muskets  and  the  cutlasses,  and  "at 
several  pistols  hanging  near.  My  instincts  cautioned  me  to 
disturb  nothing. 

"  No,"  said  I,  wheeling  round  to  the  lady  ;  "  those  weapons 
must  remain  as  they  are.  The  magazine  is  down  there,"  said 
I,  pointing  to  a  part  of  the  deck  that  formed  the  ceiling  of  a  small 
compartment  just  forward  of  the  lazarette.  "  It  is  entered  by 
that  hatch,  and,  therefore,  if  the  men  require  ammunition — 
and  it  is  likely  as  not  they'll  go  ashore  armed — they  must  pass 
through  this  cabin  to  get  at  the  magazine.  Nothing  must  be 
disturbed." 

At  this  point  the  lad  arrived  to  prepare  our  supper.  Miss 
Aurora  walked  to  her  berth.  I  sat  upon  a  locker  and 
watched  the  youth,  as  he  went  round  the  table  furnishing  it 
for  the  meal.  I  have  elsewhere  described  him.  Since  the 
date  to  which  that  description  belongs  he  appeared  to  have 
grown  somewhat  ;  he  had  broadened  ;  his  face  had  gathered 
from  the  dye  of  the  weather  something  of  the  m?  nly  look  of 
the  sailor ;  but  that  was  all.  It  was  still  a  stupid,  insipid, 
grinning  face.  He  breathed  hard,  and  put  down  the  knives 
and  forks  and  plates  with  the  characteristic  energy  of  a  weak- 
minded  youth  who  is  always  very  much  in  earnest.  He  was 
more  than  usually  in  earnest  now,  because  I  watched  him.  I 
took  the  altitude  of  his  head,  and  guessed  him  taller  than  I, 
who  was  a  pretty  big  chap,  too.  I  took  a  view  of  his  hands. 
Methought  they  fell  not  far  short  of  Yan  Bol's  in  magnitude. 
They  were  not  fat,  like  the  hands  of  Yan  Bol ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  were  bony  and  rugged  with  muscle  and  veins.  They  were 
hands  to  hold  on  with — to  hit  hard  with. 

Presently,  reflection  in  me  became  a  torment  ;  nay,  without 
straining  words,  I  may  say  that  it  rose  into  anguish.  Should  I 
put  my  life  and  the  life  of  the  girl  into  the  hands  of  that  youth, 
who  was  little  more  than  an  idiot  ?  I  waited  until  he  had  pre- 
pared the  table  for  supper.  I  could  then  endure  the  agony  of 
irresolution  no  longer,  and  I  rose  and  walked  to  my  berth, 
bidding  him  follow  me.     When  he  was  entered  I  shut  the  door. 


344  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

He  stared  at  me,  slightly  grinning,  but  his  look  had  a  little  of 
wonder  and  fear  in  it. 

"Jimmy,"  said  I, "you're  often  in  the  forecastle,  aren't  you  ? 
You  follow  the  talk  of  the  men,  I  guess.  Where  do  you  sling 
your  hammock  ? " 

"  In  tlie  eyes,  master." 

"  You  hear  the  men  talk.     Do  you  understand  'em  ?  " 

"  Why,  ay,"  he  answered,  staring  at  me  without  a  wink  from 
the  full,  knock-kneed,  muscular  stature  of  him  ;  for  he  stood 
before  me  as  a  soldier — as  he  used  to  stand  before  Greaves 
when  he  received  a  lesson  on  the  difference  of  dishes. 

"  What's  going  to  happen  to  this  brig  ?  " 

"  Why,  master,  they're  going  to  unload  the  silver  and  hide  it 
in  Amsterdam  Island  ;  and  then  we're  a-going  to  sail  away  for 
the  coast  of  New  Holland,  where  you're  to  wreck  us  ;  and  then 
we  comes  back  for  the  money." 

"After?" 

"  Dunno  what's  going  to  happen  arter." 

"  What's  to  be  your  share  of  the  dollars  ?" 

"  There's  been  nary  word  said  about  my  share,  master." 

**  D'ye  know  why  ?" 

"  'Cos  they  don't  mean  to  give  me  none." 

"  That's  so.  There's  ne'er  a  dollar  meant  for  you,  Jimmy. 
Don't  you  think  that's  hard  ?  " 

"  I'm  a  poor  lad,  master.  What  comes,  comes  to  the  likes  of 
me.  Wlien  the  captain  died  I  lost  my  friend  ; "  and  grasping 
his  fingers  he  cracked  his  joints  one  after  another,  yielding 
first  on  one  leg  and  then  on  the  other,  as  though  he  was  about 
to  break  into  a  main-deck  double  shuffle. 

"  Did  Captain  Greaves  ever  promise  you  a  share  ? " 

"  No,  master." 

"  But  you  have  a  claim,  and  he  was  not  the  man  to  have 
overlooked  it      D'ye  remember  Galloon?" 

"Remember  him,  master  ?  Remember  Galloon?"  said  he, 
lowering  his  voice. 

"  Galloon  was  an  honest  dog.  Had  he  been  able  to  speak, 
his  advice  to  you  would  always  have  been  '  Jimmy,  be  honest.'  " 

He  looked  somewhat  wild  and  scared,  as  though  he  imagined 
I  was  going  to  charge  him  with  a  wrong. 

"  It'll  be  a  wicked  act  to  cast  this  fine  brig  away,  don't  you 
think  ?  Galloon  wouldn't  have  loved  ye  for  helping  in  such 
a  job." 

"  It'll  be  no  job  of  mine,  master." 


AMSTERDAM  ISLAND.  345 

"  Both  Galloon  and  Captain  Greaves,"  said  I,  "would  have 
wished  you  to  be  on  the  right  side,  no  matter  whose  side  it 
might  happen  to  be.  Are  you  on  the  right  side  or  the  wrong 
side  ?  Are  you  on  the  side  where  home  lies,  where  a  share  of 
the  dollars  lies,  where  safety  lies  ;  or  are  you  on  the  side  where 
New  Holland  lies,  where  there  are  no  dollars  for  you,  where 
there's  no  home  for  you,  and  where  you  may  be  finding  a  gibbet 
as  one  who  helped  to  cast  a  ship  away  ? — if  the  men  don't  first 
chuck  you  overboard  as  being  in  the  road." 

He  continued  to  listen  with  increasing  eagerness  and  agita- 
tion, cracking  his  joints  again  and  again,  while  he  advanced  his 
head,  setting  his  mouth  in  the  form  of  a  half-arrested  yawn. 
When  I  had  ceased  he  nodded  repeatedly,  maintaining  silence, 
with  a  face  that  seemed  to  mark  him  too  full  for  utterance. 
He,  then,  in  stammering  and  choking  voice,  exclaimed,  while  a 
grotesque  smile  touched  his  countenance  into  a  dim  intelli- 
gence, even  as  the  eastern  obscurity  is  tinctured  by  the  lunar 
dawn  : 

"  Master,  I  sees  yer  meaning.  I  aint  on  the  side  where  the 
gibbet  is.     I  would  sail  round  the  world  with  you,  master," 

Twenty  minutes  later  he  followed  me  out  of  my  berth,  and 
went  on  deck  to  fetch  the  cabin  supper  from  the  galley. 

"  Are  you  satisfied  ?  "  said  the  lady  Aurora,  who  was  seated 
at  the  table. 

"  Perfectly,"  I  answered. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

AMSTERDAM    ISLAND. 

I  HAD  hoped  to  make  the  Island  of  Amsterdam  next  day  ; 
had  the  wind  prospered  we  should  have  sighted  it  according  to 
my  reckoning  ;  but  in  the  morning  watcli,  a  little  after  daybreak, 
the  breeze  fell,  shifted,  and  came  on  to  blow  ahead  in  hard 
rain  squalls. 

Yan  Bol  aroused  me.  I  was  sleeping  soundly.  I  had  been 
busy  throughout  the  long  night — busy  after  a  manner  of  secrecy 
that  had  rendered  my  toil  not  less  exhausting  to  my  mind  than 
to  my  body.  Throughout  the  night  I  had  been  occupied  with 
the  boy  Jimmy  in  paying  furtive  visits  to  the  magazine,  and 
with  the  help  of  the  lad  I  had  stowed  away  in  a  cabin  locker  a 
few  round  shot,  cartridges  for  the  long  gun  aft,  some  canister, 
pistols  which  I  had  loaded,  and  to  whose  primings  I  had  care- 


346  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

fully  looked,  a  few  brace  of  handcuffs,  and  some  bilboes  or  leg- 
irons,  such  as  Greaves  had  obliged  Mr.  Van  Laar  to  sit  in. 

This  work  had  run  into  hours,  because  I  had  to  await  oppor- 
tunities to  carry  it  on — the  changes  of  the  watch,  men's  move- 
ments above — and  throughout  it  was  the  same  as  though  a 
musket  had  been  leveled  at  my  head,  so  frightful  was  the  peril, 
so  deadly  the  consequences  of  detection.  For  besides  the  risk 
of  my  movements  aft  exciting  attention,  there  was  the  chance 
of  Jimmy  being  missed  forward.  Luckily  he  was  what  is  termed 
at  sea  "an  idler,"  and  an  idler  at  sea  has  "all  night  in."  No 
man  can  tell  by  merely  looking  at  a  hammock  whether  it  is  oc- 
cupied or  not,  and  I  counted  upon  such  of  the  men  as  might 
give  the  lad  a  thought  believing  that  he  lay  buried  in  his  canvas 
bag  in  the  eyes  of  the  brig. 

Yan  Bol  aroused  me.  I  went  on  deck  and  found  a  sallow, 
roaring,  wet  morning.  The  brig  was  heading  points  off  her 
course,  bursting  in  smoke  through  the  headlong  leap  of  the  surge, 
with  the  topsail  yards  on  the  caps,  reef  tackles  hauled  out,  a 
number  of  men  rolling  up  the  mainsail,  and  two  on  the  main  and 
two  on  the  fore  struggling  with  the  wet,  bladder-like  topgallant 
sails. 

I  was  bitterly  vexed.  Postponement  might  mean  frustration. 
My  scheme  was  ready  for  instant  execution  ;  my  heart  was  hot 
as  a  madman's  to  have  at  the  project  and  accomplish  it  ;  and 
now  I  might  be  obliged  to  wait  a  month  and  perhaps  as 
long  again  as  a  month  !  For  here  was  just  the  sort  of  wind  to 
blow  us  half-way  back  the  distance  we  had  already  measured  ; 
and  I  could  do  nothing  until  the  brig  was  off  Amsterdam  Island, 
the  weather  quiet,  the  maintopsail  to  the  mast,  and  Bol  and  the 
longboat  ashore. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  to  be  done  beyond  heaving  the 
brig  to  under  a  rag  of  main  staysail,  and  letting  her  lie  with  no 
more  way  than  she  would  get  from  the  hurl  of  the  seas  and  the 
gale  up  aloft. 

And  yet,  in  one  sense,  this  foul  weather  was  as  fortunate  a 
thing  as  could  have  happened  ;  Til  tell  you  why.  I  had  taken 
care  to  persuade  Yan  Bol  that  I  had  turned  over  the  crew's 
scheme  of  burying  the  money,  had  thought  better  of  it,  was, 
indeed,  now  thinking  well  of  it  as,  on  the  whole,  the  easiest  way 
to  secure  the  treasure  for  a  method  of  distribution  to  be  after- 
ward considered  ;  but  I  had  never  flattered  myself  that  he  be- 
lieved me  fully  sincere.  In  fact,  I  had  shown  too  much  amaze- 
ment at   the   start,  reasoned   against  the  imbecile  project  too 


AMSTERDAM   ISLAND.  347 

vehemently  afterward.  But  now,  when  this  change  of  weather 
came,  my  disappointment  was  so  great,  my  mortification  so  keen, 
that  even  Yan  Bol,  with  his  slow  eyes,  and  heavy,  dull,  rumi- 
nant intellect  could  not  look  me  in  the  face  and  mistake. 

We  stood  together  while  the  men  rolled  the  canvas  up,  their 
hoarse  cries,  as  they  triced  up  the  bunts,  going  down  the  gale 
like  the  yells  of  gulls.  The  rain  swept  us  in  horizontal  lines  ; 
the  water  smoked  the  length  of  the  brig  as  though  her  metal 
sheathing  were  red  hot  ;  the  Dutchman's  cap  of  fur  clung  to 
his  big  head  like  a  huge,  over-ripe  fig.  The  mist  of  the  sudden 
gale  boiled  round  the  sea  line,  and  we  labored  in  the  commo- 
tion of  our  horizon,  whose  semi-diameter  could  have  been 
measured  by  a  twenty-four  pounder. 

"  Holy  Sacrament  !  "  roared  Yan  Bol  in  Dutch.  "  Dis  vhas 
der  vindt  to  make  anchells  of  men  !  "  and  he  shook  his  im- 
mense fist  at  the  windward  ocean,  and  thundered  out,  "  Nimin 
dich  der  Teufel,  as  der  Schermans  say  !  " 

"  Han't  I  had  enough  of  this  ? "  I  shouted,  sweeping  my 
hand  round  the  dirty,  freckled  green  of  the  seas,  which  were 
beginning  to  heap  themselves  with  true  oceanic  weight  out  of 
the  granite  shadow  of  the  wet.  "I'd  had  months  of  it  when  I 
was  picked  up  off  the  oar,  and  I've  had  months  of  it  since,  and 
months  of  it  remain."  And  I  bawled  to  him  that  we  wanted  no 
more  hindrances  from  the  weather,  that  it  was  time  the  dollars 
were  buried,  that  it  was  time,  indeed,  we  were  thrashing  the 
brig  to  that  part  of  the  Australian  coast  where  we  should  agree 
to  wreck  her.  "  I  want  my  money,"  I  cried.  "  I  want  to  settle 
down  ashore." 

"  Vhere  vhas  ve  bound  to  now  ?  " 

"  Dead  west  and  all  the  way  back  again." 

'' Vy  zyn  al  verdom'd  !     Vere  vhas  der  island  ?  " 

"  Somewhere  close.  The  brig  must  be  kept  thus  while  it 
blows  on  end.  I  may  have  overshot  the  mark,  and  the  island 
may  be  leeward  of  us  now — so  keep  your  weather  eye  lifting." 

Together  we  stormed  at  the  disappointment  awhile  in  this 
fashion,  I  more  hotly  than  he,  and  with  more  sincerity,  perhaps, 
for  I  was  maddened  by  the  weather.  The  brig  v/as  reduced,  as 
I  have  said,  to  a  fragment  of  staysail,  but  she  was  light,  and  blew 
to  leeward  like  a  cask.  I  threw  the  log-ship  over  the  weather 
quarter,  and  the  line  stood  out  to  windward  like  the  warp  of  a 
fisherman's  trawl.  For  three  days  and  three  nights  it  continued 
to  blow,  and  we  to  drift.  The  flying  sky  blackened  low  down 
over  the  sea,  and  the  surges  came  out  like  cliffs  from  the  wind- 


348  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

ward  shadow.  I  obtained  no  sights,  and  knew  not  our  situa- 
tion. I  never  could  at  any  time  have  been  cocksure  of  the  po- 
sition of  the  brig  ;  the  mariner,  in  those  times,  went  to  sea 
but  poorly  equipped  with  nautical  instruments.  His  Hadley's 
quadrant  was  indeed  an  improvement  upon  the  cross-staff  of 
his  forefathers,  and  he  had  a  chronometer  or  watch  which  those 
who  went  before  him  were  not  so  fortuate  as  to  possess  ;  not  be- 
cause watches  of  exquisite  workmanship  were  not  to  be  pro- 
cured, but  because  nobody  had  thought  of  Greenwich  time. 
But  the  sailor  of  1815  was  nevetheless  not  equipped  as  the 
sailor  of  to-day  is.  Charts  were  misleading  ;  the  ocean  current 
worked  its  own  sweet  will  with  a  man  ;  consequently,  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  own  that  I  never  could  have  been  cocksure  of  the 
brig  in  reference  to  land,  and  more  particularly  to  such  a  speck 
of  land  as  Amsterdam  Island  makes,  as  you  shall  observe  by 
casting  your  eye  on  the  chart.  The  fear  that  the  vast  lump  of 
rock  might  be  to  leeward  in  the  thickness  kept  me  terribly 
anxious.  I  was  hour  after  hour  on  deck.  My  anxiety  went 
infinitely  deeper  than  the  possible  adjacency  of  the  island  ;  but 
the  crew  believed  that  I  was  only  worried  for  the  safety  of  the 
brig  ;  and  this,  as  I  had  reason  to  know,  raised  me  high  in 
their  opinion. 

So  that,  as  I  say,  the  foul  weather  blew  for  a  useful  purpose; 
but,  by  delaying  me,  it  involved  risks.  Jimmy  had  my  secret ; 
he  was  exactly  acquainted  with  my  scheme.  Suppose  the  half- 
witted fellow  should  babble  ;  nay,  suppose  he  should  talk  in 
his  sleep  !  When  I  had  explained  my  project  to  him  I.  believed 
that  the  brig  would  be  off  the  island  next  day.  It  was  wonder- 
ful that  my  hair  should  have  retained  its  color  ;  that  the 
machinery  of  my  brain  should  have  worked  with  its  established 
nimbleness.  That,  I  say,  was  wonderful,  considering  the  bitter 
anxieties  of  the  navigation,  the  fear  of  Jimmy  involuntarily  or 
unconsciously  betraying  me,  the  conviction  that  I  was  a  dead 
man  if  that  happened,  and  that  the  lady  Aurora  would  be  bar- 
barously used  through  rage  and  the  spirit  of  revenge  and  brutal 
wantonness. 

Fine  weather  came  at  last.  It  was  the  fifth  day  of  our 
westerly  drift.  The  sea  flattened  and  opened,  the  sky  cleared, 
the  wind  fell  dead,  and  then,  over  the  green  rounds  of  the 
swell,  there  blew  a  draught  of  air  from  the  northwest.  The 
sun  shone  brightly  before  noon.  I  got  a  good  observation, 
and  calculated  our  distance  at  about  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  island.     All  sail  was  heaped  upon  the  brig,  every  studding 


AMSTERDAM  ISLAND.  349 

sail  boom  run  out,  everything  that  would  draw  mast-headed  ; 
and,  at  four  o'clock  of  that  afternoon,  the  little  ship  was  sweep-, 
ing  through  it  at  twelve  knots,  roaring  to  the  drag  of  a  huge 
lower  studding  sail,  every  tack  and  sheet,  every  backstay  and 
halliard  taut  as  a  harp-string  and  shrill  with  the  song  of  the 
wind  ;  with  all  hands  standing  by  watching  for  something  to 
blow  away,  and  ready  to  shorten  sail,  should  the  yawning  hurl 
of  the  fabric  grow  too  fierce  for  spars  and  spokes. 

You  know  the  month  ;  the  date  I  forget.  The  day,  I  recol- 
lect, was  a  Friday.  It  had  been  a  very  dark  night,  blowing 
fresh  down  to  about  the  hour  of  eleven,  during  which  time  we 
had  given  the  brig  all  her  legs,  forcing  her  to  her  best  with 
large  reefless  breasts  of  canvas.  Not  a  star  showed  all  through 
the  night.  An  eager  lookout  was  kept  for  the  Island  of  New 
Amsterdam,  which,  I  guessed,  should  be  visible,  were  there 
daylight  to  disclose  it. 

It  is  a  lofty  mass  of  land,  rising  amidships  to  an  altitude  of 
near  three  thousand  feet ;  and  a  frequent  heave  of  the  log  had 
assured  me  that  already,  in  these  hours  of  darkness,  we  were 
within  its  horizon.  I  swept  the  sea  line.  It  was  all  black, 
smoky  gloom.  No  deeper  dye  than  that  of  the  universal 
shadow  of  the  night  was  visible.  Toward  midnight  the  wind 
slackened.  We  rolled  on  a  deep-breasted  heave  of  swell,  which, 
I  reckoned,  would  be  raising  a  mighty  smother  of  yeast  at  those 
points  and  bases  of  iron  terraces  which  confronted  this  long 
lift  of  ocean.  The  swollen  sails  dropped  ;  the  brig  flapped 
along  like  a  homeward-bound  crow  at  sunset.  Amid  intervals 
of  silence  I  strained  my  ears,  but  not  the  most  distant  noise  of 
breakers  did  I  catch. 

This  went  on  till  a  little  while  before  the  hour  of  daybreak. 
The  weather  was  now  very  quiet,  and  the  brig  floated  stealthily 
through  the  darkness,  under  small  canvas.  I  had  no  mind  to 
pass  the  island  and  find  it  astern  of  me,  and  perhaps  out  of 
sight,  at  sunrise. 

I  went  into  the  cabin,  when  dawn  was  close  at  hand,  to  drink 
a  glass  of  grog  and  puff  at  a  pipe  of  tobacco.  The  lady  Aurora 
was  in  her  berth.  She  had  been  about  during  the  night  ;  had 
once  or  twice  joined  me  on  deck,  and  we  had  conversed  cau- 
tiously as  we  walked.  I  sat  upon  the  locker  in  which,  some  nights 
before,  I  had  stowed  away  the  materials  for  my  scheme.  How 
long  was  the  execution  of  that  scheme  going  to  take  ?  Would 
the  lady  Aurora's  courage  be  equal  to  the  part  I  had  allotted 
to  her?     Was  Jimmy's  half-addled  head  to  be  depended  upon 


35°  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

ill  the  instant  of  a  supremely  tragic  crisis,  when  action,  saving 
or  delaying  time  by  a  minute  or  two,  might  make  all  the  differ- 
ence between  life  and  death  ? 

Thus  thinking,  I  sat  upon  the  desperately-charged  locker, 
puffing  at  my  pipe  and  drinking  from  my  glass.  Suddenly  the 
thunder  of  Yan  Bol's  voice  resounded  through  the  little 
interior  : 

"  Landt  on  der  starboardt  bow  !  " 

I  sprang  to  my  feet,  and  gained  the  deck  in  a  heart-beat. 
Dawn  was  breaking  right  ahead.  A  melancholy,  faint  green 
light  lay  spread  low  down  along  the  sky  ;  against  that  light  ran 
the  horizon — a  deep  black  line  ;  and  on  the  right,  or  about 
three  points  on  the  starboard  or  lee  bow,  there  stood  against 
that  green  light  of  dawn  the  pitch-black  mass  of  the  Island  of 
New  Amsterdam,  defined  as  clearly  upon  the  growing  light  as 
the  fanciful  edges  of  an  ink-stain  on  white  blotting-paper. 

It  was  not  the  Island  of  St.  Paul's.  That  I  knew.  It  was, 
therefore,  Amsterdam  Island  ;  and,  filled  as  I  was  with  anxiety 
and  distracted  by  many  contending  passions,  a  momentary 
emotion  of  pride  swelled  my  heart  when  I  beheld  that  island, 
scarcely  five  miles  distant,  within  three  points  under  the  bows 
of  the  little  brig. 

Yan  Bol  stood  beside  me  witli  folded  arms.  The  ear-flaps 
of  his  hair  cap  helmeted  his  face  ;  his  skin  was  green  with  the 
faint  light  ahead  ;  he  looked  like  a  mariner  of  Tromp's  day  in 
casque-like  cap. 

"  So  dot  vhas  der  island  ?  Dot  vhas  New  Amsterdam,  hey  ? 
Potsblitz!  Vhas  not  der  Doytch  everywhere  in  her  day?  But 
dot  day  vhas  gone.  Und  dot  vhas  der  island,  hey  ?  Veil,  she 
vhas  in  good  time,  und  I  likes  der  look  of  der  vetter.  Vhere 
vhas  der  landing-place,  I  fonders  ?  " 

I  told  him  I  couldn't  say  ;  I  was  without  a  chart  of  the 
island.  Its  configuration,  to  our  approach,  was  that  of  a  lofty 
mass  of  coal-black  rock  southeast,  with  a  down-like  shelving  of 
the  stuff  into  the  interior,  and  a  facing  seaward  of  rugged,  hor- 
ribly precipitous  cliff.  I  should  say  it  scarcely  measured  five 
miles  north  and  south.  The  ocean  looked  lonely  with  it,  as  a 
babe  makes  lonelier  the  figure  of  tlie  lonely  woman  who  carries 
it ;  the  melancholy  picture  of  the  deep  at  that  moment — of 
that  picture  of  faint  green  dawn  blackening  out  the  forlorn 
jnle  of  island  and  the  indigo  sweep  of  the  sea-line  on  either 
hand  of  it,  and  all  astern  of  us  the  thickness  of  the  smoky 
shadows  of  the  departing  night — is  indescribable. 


AMSTERDAM  ISLAND.  35 1 

The  sun  rose  right  behind  the  island.  It  shot  out  a  hun- 
dred beams  of  splendor  before  lifting  its  flaming  upper  limb  ; 
it  was  then  a  fine  morning  ;  the  water  of  this  Indian  Ocean 
brimmed  in  a  dark  and  beautifully  pure  blue  to  the  base  of  the 
iron-like  steeps  ;  the  flash  and  dazzle  of  rollers  were  visible  at 
points,  the  sky  was  hard  and  high  with  a  delicate  shading  and 
interlacery  of  gray  cloud,  and  the  wind  was  small  and  about 
northwest. 

I  looked  south  for  the  Island  of  St.  Paul  ;  it  was  invisible 
from  the  altitude  of  our  deck,  though  I  dare  say  on  a  fine,  clear 
day  it  may  be  seen  from  the  top  of  Amsterdam  Island. 

"  Vere  vhas  the  landing-places,  I  fonders,"  said  Bol. 

I  fetched  the  glass  and  carefully  covered  as  much  of  the 
island  as  our  bearings  commanded.  While  I  kneeled  I  felt  a 
hand  upon  my  shoulder. 

"  Que  tiempo  /nice  ?  "  inquired  the  lady  Aurora  in  a  cool,  col- 
lected voice,  looking  down  into  my  face. 

I  answered  in  Spanish  that  the  weather  was  fine  and  promised 
to  keep  so. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Bol,"  said  she. 

"  Goodt-morning,  marm.  I  hope  you  vhas  veil  dis  morning  ? 
Dot  vhas  der  island  at  last.  She  vhas  a  Doytchman's  dis- 
covery. 1  likes  to  tink  of  der  Doytchers  all  der  wav  down 
here." 

The  lady  Aurora  made  no  reply,  probably  not  having  under- 
stood a  syllable  of  Bol's  speech.  I  put  the  telescope  into 
the  Dutchman's  hand,  and  bade  him  look  for  himself.  The 
lady  arched  her  brows  at  the  island,  and  glanced  interrogatively, 
round  the  sea,  fixing  her  eyes  upon  me  full  with  a  look  of  mean- 
ing. I  faintly  inclined  my  head.  Often  had  I  read  her  mean- 
ing in  her  face  when  I  had  failed  to  grasp  her  words,  so  facile 
and  fluent  was  the  eloquence  of  her  looks. 

All  the  crew  save  Hals  and  Jimmy  were  collected  on  the 
forecastle-head,  staring  at  the  island.  The  caboose  chimney 
was  smoking,  and  Hals'  head  frequently  showed  in  the  caboose 
doorway  while  he  took  a  view  of  the  land.  Galen  constantly 
pointed  and  talked  much,  and  was  the  center  of  a  little  crowd. 
Bol  stood  up,  and  said  he  could  see  no  signs  of  a  landing-place. 

"  There'll  be  one  on  the  eastern  side,  I  dare  say,"  said  I. 
"You're  bound  to  have  a  landing-place  somewhere.  I  wish  I 
had  a  chart  of  the  island.  The  last  survey  I  remember  was 
D'  Entrecasteaux'.  It  is  enough,  of  such  an  island  as  this,  to 
know  that  it  exists.     Look  at  it !  " 


352  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

The  sun  was  hanging  over  it  now  ;  its  light  revealed  many 
slopes  of  the  land  falling  to  the  precipitous  edge  of  the  cliffs. 
A  most  horribly  barren  rock  did  it  seem — desolate  beyond  the 
dreams  of  the  wildest  fancy  of  an  uninhabited  island.  There 
may  have  been  some  sort  of  growth  on  top  ;  I  know  not  ;  I  saw 
no  verdure.  All  was  cold,  naked,  iron-hard  cliff,  swelling  cen- 
trally into  a  prodigious  summit,  around  which  even  as  I  watched 
dense  white  masses  of  mists  were  beginning  to  form  and  crawl, 
reminding  me  of  the  magnificent  growth  and  fall  of  lace-like 
vapor  on  Table  Mountain — the  fairest  and  most  marvelous  of 
all  the  airy  sights  of  the  world  when  viewed  by  moonlight.    . 

I  hauled  the  brig  in  to  within  a  mile  of  the  land,  then,  ob- 
serving discolored  water,  I  ordered  a  cast  of  the  hand-lead  to 
be  taken  ;  no  bottom  was  reached.  We  shifted  the  helm, 
trimmed  sail,  and  stood  about  southeast,  rounding  the  point 
which  I  have  since  ascertained  is  called  Vlaming  Head,  so 
named  after  the  Dutch  navigator  who  was  off  this  island  in  1696. 
Here  we  found  fifty  fathoms  of  water,  and  black  sand  for  a 
bottom.  The  rollers  broke  very  furiously  against  the  base  of 
Vlaming  Head.  Foam  was  heaped  in  a  vast  cloud  there,  as 
though  the  sea  was  kept  boiling  by  a  great  volcanic  flame  just 
beneath. 

We  trimmed  sail  afresh  and  steered  northeast.  The  land 
rose  black  and  horribly  desolate  ;  but  the  swell  being  from  the 
west  the  sea  was  smooth,  and  the  tremble  of  surf  small  along 
the  whole  range  tliis  side.  All  this  while  we  eagerly  gazed  at 
the  coast  in  search  of  a  landing-place — of  any  platform  of  sand 
and  split  of  cliff  by  which  the  inland  heights  might  be  gained. 
Bol's  round  face  grew  long,  and  he  swore  often  in  Dutch. 
Many  of  the  men  came  aft  to  be  within  talking  distance  of  the 
quarter-deck,  and  hoarsely-uttered  remarks  and  oaths  fell  from 
them,  as  they  gazed  at  the  precipitous  front  of  the  island  and 
beheld  no  spot  to  land  on. 

The  wind  was  scarcely  more  than  a  light  draught  of  air, 
owing  to  the  interposition  of  the  land  ;  it  was  off  the  bow,  too, 
by  this  time,  and  we  were  braced  up  sharp  to  it.  I  told  Bolto 
send  the  crew  to  breakfast  while  the  brig  made  a  board  into  the 
northeast  to  enable  her  to  fetch  the  northern  parts  of  the 
island,  where  now  lay  our  only  chance  of  finding  a  landing- 
place.  Impatience  worked  like  madness  in  me,  and  no  man  of 
all  our  ship's  company  could  have  been  wilder  to  behold  a 
landing-place  than  I. 

The  breeze    slightly    freshened    as    we  stood   off  from   the 


AMSTERDAM  I  SLA  A' D.  353 

island.  I  put  the  brig  into  the  hands  of  Galen,  and  went 
below  to  get  some  breakfast.  Miss  Aurora  and  I  conversed  in 
subdued  voices  ;  she  ate  little,  and  was  pale,  but  I  saw  courage 
in  her  mouth  and  eyes.  While  Jimmy  waited  I  told  him  that, 
if  we  found  a  landing-place,  our  business  might  be  settled  be- 
fore sundown.  "  Before  sundown,"  said  I  to  him,  "  we  may, 
but  I  don't  say  we  shall,  be  sailing  along,  the  island  astern,  old 
England  before  us,  and  a  handsome  i)romise  of  dollars  for  you, 
my  lad,  when  we  arrive.     Are  ye  all  there?" 

"All  there,  master,"  said  he,  feeling  his  wrist. 

"  You've  gone  through  your  lessons  o'er  and  o'er  again  ?  " 

"  O'er  and  o'er,  master." 

"  This  job'U  make  a  fine  man  of  you,  You  shall  knock  off 
the  sea  and  choose  a  calling  ashore.  What  would  you  be? 
Oh,  but  don't  think  of  that  yet.  Have  nothing  in  your  mind 
but  this,"  said  I,  holding  up  ray  hand  and  twisting  it  as  though 
I  screwed  a  man  by  tile  throat.  "  Afterward  turn  to  and 
whistle  and  dance  till  you  give  in." 

His  grin  was  deep  and  prolonged.  The  feeling  that  he  was 
now  being  enormously  trusted  by  me  bred  a  sort  of  manliness 
in  him.  Methought  he  was  a  little  less  of  a  fool  than  he  used 
to  be  ;  his  gaze  had  gathered  something  of  steadfastness,  his 
grin  something  of  intelligence. 

When  our  stretch  had  brought  the  northern  point  of  the 
island  abeam,  we  put  the  brig  about  and  headed  for  the  island 
on  the  starboard  tack  ;  and  now,  after  we  had  been  sailing  for 
some  time,  the  telescope  gave  me  a  sight  of  what  we  were  all  on 
the  lookout  for.  The  northern  point  of  the  island  sloped  to 
the  edge  of  the  sea,  in  perhaps  half  a  mile's  length  of  surf- 
washed  margin.  The  surf  was  but  a  delicate  tremble.  The 
climb  to  the  height  was  steep  ;  but  fair  in  the  lenses  lay  the 
half-mile  of  landing-place,  whether  sand  or  beach  or  rock  I 
knew  not. 

"Yonder's  where  you'll  be  able  to  get  ashore,"  I  cried, 
thrusting  the  telescope  into  Yan  Bol's  hands. 

"What  dy'e  see?"  bawled  Teach,  who  overhung  the  bulwark 
rail. 

"A  landing-place,  my  ladts,  und  she  vhas  all  right,"  thun- 
dered Bol,  with  his  eye  at  the  telescope. 

"Anything  alive  ashore?"  cried  Teach. 

"All  vhas  uninhabited,"  answered  Bol. 

"Ne'er  a  hut?"  shouted  Teach. 

"Vhas  dot  uninhabited,  you  tonkey?     Dere  vhas  no  shtir. 


354  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

Dot   vhas  der    country    for    my    dollars    until    by    um    by. 
Hurrah ! " 

He  rose  slowly  and  heavily  from  his  posture  of  leaning,  and 
put  the  glass  down.  I  took  another  long  look  at  the  island  we 
were  approaching.  There  was  majesty  in  its  loneliness;  there 
was  majesty  in  the  altitude  its  dark  terraces  and  inland  heights 
rose  to.  A  crown  of  cloud  was  upon  the  brow  of  its  central 
height,  and  the  sunshine  whitened  into  silver  that  similitude 
of  regal  right — as  real  and  lasting,  for  all  its  being  vapor,  as 
any  earthly  crown  of  gold! 

"There's  your  island,  and  there's  your  landing-place," 
said  I,  thrusting  my  hands  into  my  pockets.  "What's  the 
next  stroke,  Yan  Bol?" 

"Vhat  vhas  der  soundings  here?"  he  answered,  going  to  the 
side  and  looking  down. 

"What  do  you  want  with  the  soundings?" 

"Shall  you  not  pring  oop?" 

"No,  by  thunder!"  I  cried.  "What?  Bring  up  off  that 
island  with  four  men  and  a  boy  to  man  the  capstan  should  it 
come  on  to  blow  a  hurricane  on  a  sudden  out  of  the  eastward 
there,  putting  that  black  coast  dead  under  our  lee?  No,  by 
thunder!  If  we  are  to  bring  up  I'll  go  ashore  with  you;  I'll 
not  stay  with  the  brig;  I'll  not  risk  my  life.  Oh,  yes!  It  Avill 
kill  the  time  to  hunt  for  the  dollars  at  low  water  after  the 
brig's  stranded  and  gone  to  pieces,  eh?  Bring  up?"  I  con- 
tinued, shouting  out  that  all  the  men  might  hear  me;  "send 
plenty  of  victuals  ashore  if  that's  your  intention.  I'm  no 
man-eater;  and  what  but  Dutch  and  English  flesh  will  there 
be  to  eat  if  it  comes  to  anchoring?" 

"Mr.  Fielding  knows  what  he's  talking  about,"  sung  out 
Teach;  "I'm  to  stay  aboard  for  one,  and  I  guess  he's  right. 
No  good  to  talk  of  slipping  if  it  comes  on  to  blow;  we  aren't 
flush  of  anchors,  and  the  end  of  this  here  traverse  is  a  bloom- 
ing long  way  off  yet." 

"How  vhas  she  to  be?"  cried  Bol,  looking  round  the  sea. 

"How   was    she    to   be?"    I    exclaimed.      "Why,    heave  to 
under  topsails  and  a  topgallant  sail." 
.    "Suppose  she  cooms  on  to  blow  und  ve  vhas  still  ashore?" 

"Well?" 

"Veil,  der  vetter  obliges  you  to  roon,  und  you  lost  sight  of 
der  island  und  us.     How  vhas  dot,  mit  noting  to  eat  ashore, 
und  der  vetter  tick  und  beastly  for  dree  veeks,  say?" 
•  "Look  here,  Bol,"  said  I,  speaking  loudly,  "you  are  wast- 


AMSTERDAM  ISLAND.  355 

ing  valuable  time  in  talking  damned  nonsense.  You're  all  for 
supposing.  /  choose  to  suppose  because  I  am  to  be  left  in 
charge  of  this  brig,  frightfully  short-handed,  and  don't  mean 
to  depend  upon  her  ground  tackle.  D'ye  understand  me?" 
He  gave  one  of  his  immensely  heavy  nods.  "But  j^z/ — there 
are  always  chances  and  risks  in  a  job  of  this  sort,  and  recollect 
'tis  your  own  bringing  about — 'twas  you  and  Teach  yonder 
who  contrived  it." 

"Veil?"  he  thundered  impatiently. 

"Get  your  boat  over  as  smartly  as  may  be  when  the  time 
arrives.  Load  her  with  as  much  silver  as  you  may  think 
proper  to  take  for  the  first  jaunt.  Stow  a  piece  or  two  of  beef 
and  some  barrels  of  bread — you  say  there  is  fresh  water 
ashore?" 

"Blenty, "  said  the  Dutchman. 

"You  can  bring  off  the  victuals  when  your  job's  ended," 
said  I. 

"Mr.  Fielding,  you're  right,"  said  Teach.  "Yan,  'tis  only 
agin  the  chance  of  our  being  blowed  off.  If  that's  to  happen, 
ye  must  have  enough  to  eat  till  we  tarns  up  agin.  But  what's 
that  chance?"  cried  he,  with  a  stare  up  aloft  and  around. 
"If  the  fear  o't's  to  stop  us,  good-night  to  the  burying 
job." 

Bol  trudged  a  little  way  forward;  the  men  gathered  about 
him  and  held  a  debate.  I  marched  aft  with  my  hands  in  my 
pockets  as  though  indifferent  to  the  issue  of  their  council,  hav- 
ing made  up  my  mind.  But  for  all  that  it  was  a  time  of  mortal 
anxiety  with  me. 

After  ten  minutes  Bol  came  aft  and  told  me  that  the  crew 
were  agreed  the  brig  should  be  hove  to.  There  was  no  anchor 
at  the  bow,  and  precious  time  would  be  wasted  in  making 
ready  the  ground  tackle.  Next,  we  should  have  to  haul  in 
close  to  land  to  find  anchorage,  and  the  crew  were  of  my 
opinion  that  the  brig  was  a  perished  thing  with  such  a  coast  as 
that  close  aboard  under  her  lee,  should  it  come  on  to  blow  a 
hard  inshore  wind. 

"Und  besides,"  he  continued,  "ve  doan  take  no  silver  mit  us 
to-day.  Our  beesiness  vhas  to  oxplore.  Ve  take  provisions 
und  shovels,  und  der  like,  vhen  ve  goes  ashore  now,  und  ve 
begins  to  dig  if  ve  findts  a  place  dot  all  vhas  agreed  vhas  a 
goodt  place  for  hiding  der  money." 

"Then  turn  to  and  get  all  ready  with  the  boat,"  said  I; 
"we  shall  be  in  with  the  land  close  enough  in  a  few  minutes. 


35^  1JS1\     YE   LANDSMEN ! 

I  want  a  mile  and  a  half  of  offing — nothing  less — otherwise  I 
go  ashore  in  the  boat  and  you  stop  here." 

"Hov  your  way,  sir;  hov  your  way,"  he  rumbled  in  his 
deepest  voice.  "Vhat  should  I  do  here?  Soopose  ve  vhas 
blowned  away  out  of  sight  of  der  island;  how  vhas  I  to  findt 
her?" 

Saying  this  he  left  me,  and  in  a  few  minutes  all  hands  were 
in  motion.  I  stopped  them,  in  the  middle  of  their  labors  over 
the  boat,  to  bring  the  brig  to  a  stand.  We  laid  the  main  top- 
sail aback,  and  since  it  was  now  certain  that  I  should  not  be 
able  to  put  my  scheme  into  execution  that  day,  I  ordered  them 
to  reduce  the  ship  to  very  easy  canvas;  the  mainsail  was 
furled,  the  forecourse  hauled  up,  the  trysail  brailed  up,  and 
other  sails  were  taken  in,  one  or  two  furled,  and  one  or  two 
left  to  hang.  The  fellows  then  got  the  longboat  over.  They 
swayed  her  out  by  tackles,  and  when  she  was  afloat  and  along- 
side they  lowered  some  casks  of  beef  and  pork  and  some  bar- 
rels of  bread  and  flour  into  her.  We  were  handsomely  stocked 
with  provisions,  and  I  foresaw  the  loss  of  those  tierces  and 
barrels  without  concern. 

The  seiiorita  came  to  my  side,  and  we  stood  together  at  the 
rail,  looking  down  into  the  boat  and  watching  the  proceedings 
of  the  men.  It  was  a  very  fine  day;  the  hour  about  one.  The 
island  lay  in  lofty  masses  of  dark  rock  within  two  miles  of  us, 
bearing  a  little  to  the  southward  of  east.  The  great  heap  of 
land  filled  the  sea  that  way.  The  searching  light  of  the  sun 
revealed  nothing  that  stirred.  I  saw  not  even  a  bird;  but  that 
might  have  been  because  the  sea-fowl  of  the  island  were  too 
distant  for  my  sight.  An  awful  bit  of  ocean  solitude  is 
Amsterdam  Island.  The  sight  of  it,  the  reality  of  it,  makes 
shallow  the  bottom  of  the  deepest  of  your  imaginations  of 
loneliness.  The  roar  of  the  surf,  at  points  where  the  flash  of 
it  was  fierce,  came  along  in  a  note  of  cannonading.  You'd 
have  thought  there  were  troops  firing  heavy  guns  t'other  side 
the  island. 

The  men  threw  the  fore-peak  shovels  into  the  boat,  along 
with  crowbars,  carpenter's  tools,  and  whatever  else  they  could 
find  that  was  good  to  dig  with.  They  handed  down  oars, 
mast,  and  sail.  I  particularly  noticed  the  sail.  It  was  a  big, 
square  lug  with  a  tall  hoist.  The  biggest  galley-punts  in  the 
Downs  carry  such  sails.  The  fellows  lighted  their  pipes  to  a 
man.  They  grinned  and  joked  and  put  on  holiday  looks.  It 
was  a  jaunt — a  fine  change — a  jolly  run  ashore  for  the  rogues 


MY  SCHEME.  357 

after  our  prodigious  term  of  imprisonment.  Besides,  every 
man  possessed  a  great  fortune;  every  man  might  reckon  him- 
self up  in  thousands  of  dollars!  I  could  not  wonder  that  they 
grinned  and  wore  a  jolly  air. 

The  following  men  entered  the  boat:  John  Wirtz,  William 
Galen,  Frank  Hals,  John  Friend,  William  Street,  and  lastly, 
Yan  Bol.  Hals,  as  you  know,  was  the  cook.  They  took  him, 
nevertheless — perhaps  because  he  was  suspicious,  and  wished 
to  see  for  himself  where  the  pit  was  dug;  perhaps  because  he 
was  an  immensely  strong  man — short,  vast  of  breech,  of 
weight  to  sink,  with  his  foot,  a  shovel  through  granite.  And 
the  following  men  were  left  behind  to  help  me  to  control  the 
brig:  James  Meehan,  Isaac  Travers,  Henry  Call,  Jim  Vinten, 
and  Thomas  Teach. 

The  men  in  the  boat  shoved  off,  hoisting  the  big  lug  as  they 
did  so.  The  devils  sent  up  a  cheer,  and  Bol  flourished  his 
hair  cap  at  me  and  the  lady.  I  returned  the  salute  with  a 
cordial  wave  of  the  hand,  and  the  lady  bowed.  They  hauled 
the  sheet  of  the  lug  flat  aft,  that  the  boat  might  look  a  little  to 
windward  of  the  landing-place,  where,  so  far  as  I  could  distin- 
guish, there  was  a  sort  of  split,  or  ravine,  which  would  provide 
easy  access  to  the  inland  heights  and  flats.  I  watched  the 
boat's  progress  through  the  water  with  keen  interest  and  anx- 
iety. Flattened  in  as  the  sheet  was,  the  little  fabric  swam 
briskly.  The  wind  was  small,  yet  the  boat  drove  a  pretty 
ripple  from  either  bow  and  towed  some  fathoms  of  wake 
astern  of  her. 

"We'll  chance  it,  all  the  same!"  thought  I,  setting  my  teeth. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

MY    SCHEME. 

I  WATCHED  the  boat  until  she  entered  the  tremble  of  surf. 
'Twas  a  mere  silver  fringe  of  surf,  so  quiet  was  the  water  on 
this,  the  lee  side  of  the  island.  The  sail  of  the  boat  shone  in 
that  slender  edge  of  whiteness  like  a  snowflake;  then  vanished 
on  a  sudden.  J  looked  through  the  glass,  and  saw  the  men 
on  either  gunwale  of  the  boat  running  her  up  the  beach  clear 
of  the  wash. 

I  was  so  provoked  by  that  sight,  that  I  was  mad  then  and 
there  to  start  on  my  scheme  of  release.  The  resolution  seized 
me  like  a  fit  of  fever,  and  the  blood  surged  through  me  in  a 


35^  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

flood  of  fire.  I  went  to  the  lee  side  of  the  deck  to  conceal  my 
face.  In  a  few  minutes  I  had  reconsidered  my  resolution  and 
was  determined  to  wait.  For,  first,  the  afternoon  was  advanc- 
ing; the  boat  was  not  likely  to  stay  long  ashore;  her  sail  might 
be  showing  out  on  the  blue  water,  under  the  dark  height  of 
clifs,  ere  I  was  half  through  with  what  lay  before  me.  Next, 
the  wind  was  very  scant;  it  was  scarce  a  four-knot  air  of  wind, 
though  the  brig  should  be  able  to  spread  the  canvas  of  a  Royal 
George  to  the  off-shore  draught.  There  was  nothing,  then,  to 
be  done  but  wait;  to  pray  for  a  continuance  of  fine  weather 
and  a  little  more  wind. 

The  brig  lay  very  quiet.  The  swell  of  the  sea  ran  softly, 
and  the  hush  that  was  upon  the  island — such  a  hush  as  was  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  when  it  was  first  created — was  spread, 
like  something  sensible,  throughout  the  atmosphere;  and  this 
silence  of  desolation  was  upon  the  breast  of  the  sea.  I  kept 
the  deck  throughout  the  afternoon,  often  looking  at  the  land- 
ing-place. The  boat  lay  high  and  dry,  watched  by  a  single 
figure;  the  others  were  gone  inland.  They  had  sailed  away 
without  firearms — an  oversight,  I  reckon;  or  they  might  have 
asked  of  one  another,  "What  was  the  good  of  going  armed  to 
a  desolate  island?"  Yet  I  had  a  sort  of  sympathy  for  that 
lonely  figure  down  by  the  boat  when  I  thought  of  him  as 
unarmed.  Frightfully  lonesome  he  looked,  with  the  great  face 
of  the  cliff  hanging  high  up  behind  him  and  spreading  away, 
huge  and  sullen,  on  either  hand.  I  guess,  had  I  been  that 
man,  I  should  have  yearned  for  a  loaded  musket.  Crusoe 
carried  two,  and  went  the  easier  for  the  burden. 

The  sun  would  set  behind  the  island.  It  was  sinking  that 
way  when  I  spied  the  sail  of  the  boat.  The  men  had  their 
oars  over,  and  she  came  along  pretty  fast,  I  calculated  her 
speed,  and  cursed  it.  She  drew  alongside,  some  of  the  men 
halloaing  answers  to  questions  bawled  by  Teach  and  the  others, 
who  were  on  the  forecastle.  Bol  scrambled  up,  and  shouting 
for  all  hands  to  get  the  boat  inboard  and  stowed  for  the  night, 
he  stepped  up  to  me,  who  was  standmg  aft  with  Miss  Aurora, 
Call  being  at  the  wheel. 

"She  vhas  all  right,"  said  he,  thick  of  voice  with  fatigue. 

"What  was  all  right?" 

"Veil,  first  of  all,  she  vhas  der  prettiest  leedle  islandt  in 
der  whole  vorldt  for  hiding  money  in.  Ve  looked  about  us — 
all  vhas  still.  Dere  vhas  birdts  in  der  air,  und  dot  vhas  all, 
und  dey  vhas  still  too.     Dere  vhas  no  sign  of  man  ever  having 


MV  SCHEME.  359 

landted  upon  dot  island.  Mr."  Fielding,  she  vhas  still  undis- 
covered." 

"Did  you  find  any  fresh  water?" 

"Blenty.     Sweet  und  coldt." 

"Have  you  dug  your  pit?" 

"Donnerwetter,  no!  Dot  vhas  to  take  a  morning.  Der 
ground  vhas  hard  like  dis."  He  stamped  his  foot.  "Dere 
vhas  no  caves  ;  ve  look  for  a  hole,  und  dere  vhas  nothing  so  big 
ash  a  monkey  might  hide  in." 

"Have  you  stowed  the  provisions  securely  away?" 

"Dot  vhas  all  right,  Mr.  Fielding.  Everyting  vhas  ready 
for  der  morning."     He  cast  his  gaze  round  upon  the  sky. 

"Have  you  found  a  place  for  the  burial  of  the  money?" 

"Yaw,  a  first-rate  place,"  he  answered,  with  a  glance  at  the 
island.  "Shtop  till  der  shob  is  over,  den  you  und  Teach  und 
der  odders  dot  stays  mit  you  goes  ashore  und  you  take  der 
bearings  of  der  place  for  yourself." 

"I'll  do  that.     It's  fair,  Bol." 

"She  vhas  fair,"  he  answered.  "If  you  vhas  villing, 
marm,"  he  continued,  addressing  Miss  Aurora,  "you  shall  go 
mit  us  likewise.  Dere  vhas  noting  so  goodt  for  man,  fimmin, 
und  beast  as  a  leedle  run  ashore  after  months  of  board  ship." 

She  did  not  understand  him.  I  explained,  giving  her  a 
look;  she  addressed  me  in  Spanish  and  English. 

"The  lady  will  be  glad  to  go  ashore,  and  looks  forward  to 
it,"  said  I. 

Nothing  more  was  said.  The  huge  bulk  of  the  man  seemed 
wearied  out  to  the  heels  of  his  feet;  and,  indeed,  the  straining 
and  climbing  involved  in  the  ascent  of  those  inland  steeps 
must  have  sorely  tested  the  muscle  and  bones  whose  load  was 
Bol's  fat.  He  went  forward  and  sat  down.  The  men  had 
swayed  the  longboat  inboard,  had  chocked  her,  and  were  now 
shipping  the  gangway  and  clearing  up. 

I  considered  a  little  and  then  resolved  to  let  the  brig  lie  as 
she  was.  We  had  a  full  two-mile  offing,  which  was  enough 
with  a  short  lee-shore  to  deal  with  in  case  of  a  heavy,  sudden 
inshore  gale. 

The  sun  went  down  behind  the  island,  as  it  had  risen  behind 
the  island,  to  our  gaze  when  coming  from  the  east.  The 
western  sky  was  a  sheet  of  red  splendor,  and  the  island  stood 
in  a  deep  purple  against  it  until  the  light  went  out  of  the 
heavens,  when  the  land  floated  in  shadow  upon  the  dusk  like  a 
vast  thick  smoke  hovering.     Never  a  light  kindled  by  mortal 


360  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN ! 

there !  The  whole  mighty  spirit  of  the  great  ocean  solitude 
was  in  that  shadow.  A  few  clouds  hung  high,  and  the  stars 
were  bright,  with  a  merry  fair  weather  twinkling  among  them 
that  made  me  hopeful  of  clear  skies  and  brisk  winds. 

The  night  passed  quickly.  I  lay  upon  the  cabin  locker, 
fully  dressed,  and  was  up  and  down  every  hour.  The  air  was 
soft  and  mild,  for  Amsterdam  Island  lies  upon  the  pleasantest 
parallel  in  the  world,,  where  the  atmosphere  is  sweet  and  dry, 
where  it  is  never  too  hot,  though  at  night-time  it  may  be  some- 
times cold,  and  the  Avonder  is  that  you  should  find  such 
hideous  barrenness  and  nakedness  as  you  observe  in  this  island 
in  the  most  temperate,  cheerful,  and  fruitful  of  climates. 

Miss  Aurora  retired  early,  at  my  request.  I  was  afraid  of 
her  on  the  eve  of  such  a  day  as  to-morrow  might  prove.  She 
was  a  little  heedless  in  her  questions,  talked  somewhat  loud,  as 
the  foreigner  will  when  he  discourses  in  our  tongue,  and  to 
provide  against  all  risks  of  our  betraying  ourselves  by  sitting  in 
company  below,  or  walking  the  deck  together,  I  told  her  to  go 
to  bed. 

At  midnight  Bol  relieved  Galen.  I  walked  with  Bol  awhile, 
and  all  our  talk  was  about  the  island,  the  depth  at  which  the 
money  should  be  buried,  the  mark  that  was  to  denote  the 
treasure,  and  so  forth.^  He  wanted  to  know  if  money  was  to 
be  injured  by  lying  in  the  earth;  I  answered  that  the  metal  out 
of  which  money  was  made  came  from  the  earth.  What  would 
be  a  good  mark  to  set  up?  I  told  him  he  was  a  carpenter  and 
ought  to  know;  but  I  advised  him  not  to  bury  the  money  so 
carefully  that  we  should  never  afterward  be  able  to  find  out 
where  it  lay  hid.  He  said  it  would  not  do  to  erect  a  cross,  or 
any  sign  that  indicated  human  handiwork,  lest  men  should  land 
after  we  had  left  the  island,  and,  guessing  at  the  meaning  of  the 
mark,  fall  a-digging.  The  place  they  had  settled  on  he 
informed  me  was  at  the  foot  of  a  peculiar  rise  of  land  of  a  very 
strange  shape.  He  described  this  rise  of  land  and  its  appear- 
ance seemed  to  be  that  of  the  head  of  a  cat.  Once  beheld  it 
could  never  be  forgotten.  It  was  the  wish  of  the  men,  how- 
ever, when  the  money  was  buried,  and  I  went  on  shore  to  view 
the  spot  and  take  its  correct  bearings  from  different  points  of 
the  island,  that  I  should  make  a  sketch  in  black  and  white  of 
the  peculiarly-shaped  rise  of  land  or  little  hill;  this  would  be 
copied,  and  each  man  hold  a  drawing  of  the  hill  for  himself 
with  all  particulars  written  underneath. 

"I'll  do  whatever  is  reasonable  and  right,"  said  I. 


MV  SCHEME.  361 

"Dere  vhas  two  ton  belonging  to  you,  Mr.  Fielding." 

"I  don't  forget." 

In  this  walk  we  settled  the  next  day's  proceedings.  I 
advised  Yan  Bol  to  take  three  tons  of  silver  with  him  ashore 
when  he  started  early  in  the  morning  with  his  digging  party. 

"Shall  ve  not  dig  der  pit  first?" 

"Yaw,  but  also  take  a  portion  of  your  cargo  with  you.  The 
boat's  capacity  of  five  tons  was  right  enough  for  Captain 
Greaves'  island;  but  here  a  roller  may  catch  and  capsize  you, 
even  as  you're  going  ashore,  unless  you  show  the  best  height 
of  side  you  can  manage.  Three  tons  a  trip  Avon't  hurt — I'll 
not  advise  more." 

"Yaw,  dot  vhas  right.  I  himself  vhas  for  tree.  But  vhy 
take  der  silver  ashore  before  der  pit  vhas  dig?" 

"To  save  time.  Then,  with  three  tons,  you'll  have  boxes 
and  chests  to  enable  you  to  gauge  the  depth  and  space  you 
require.     You  don't  want  to  dig  forty  feet  when  ten  may  do." 

"No,  by  Cott,  Mr.  Fielding,  nor  would  you  if  you  only 
shoost  knew  how  hardt  vhas  dot  land.  Veil,  you  vhas  right. 
A  leedle  at  a  time,  und  ve  starts  to-morrow  mit  a  leedle;  und 
vhen  der  pit  vhas  dig  ve  comes  back  for  more." 

"How  long  will  it  take  you  to  dig  the  pit?" 

"Veil,  dot  vill  be  ash  she  shall  turn  out.  She  may  mean  a 
morning's  shob,  but  all  vhas  right  und  safe,  I  hope,  before 
der  sun  vhas  sunk." 

I  went  below  and  slept  for  an  hour.  The  men  got  their 
breakfast  early.  Hals  lighted  the  caboose  fire  before  the  sun 
was  up,  and  the  hands  breakfasted  when  the  east  was  still  rosy 
with  the  dawn  into  which  the  sun  had  sprung  in  glory.  I  say 
in  glory,  for  it  was  a  very  perfect  morning,  the  sky  of  a  deep 
blue,  and  the  sea  of  a  silver  azure  with  the  sunlight  upon  it. 
The  breeze  was  light  out  of  the  north;  but,  if  it  held,  it  fanned 
with  weight  enough  to  serve  my  turn. 

The  men  got  the  boats  over  as  on  the  previous  day.  Yan 
Bol  rolled  up  to  me,  who  had  come  on  deck  long  before  sun- 
rise, and  said,  "Mr.  Fielding,  how  many  cases  vhas  dere  in 
tree  tons?" 

"About  twenty,"  said  I,  "they  won't  all  run  alike  in  size. 
If  they  were  all  alike  of  course  there'd  be  thirty." 

"Veil,  ve  takes  twenty." 

"Yes,  a  little  at  a  time,  if  you  please.  Two  tons  are  mine. 
If  you  capsize,  who  bears  the  loss?" 

"Dere  vhas  no  capsize,"  said  he.     "Look  what  a  beautiful 


362  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

day  she  vhas!  Und  how  many  dollars,  Mr.  Fielding,  vhas 
dere  in  tree  ton?" 

"One  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars." 

He  rounded  his  little  eyes  and  smacked  his  huge  lips,  and 
could  find  no  more  to  say  than,  "Veil,  veil!" 

He  and  Galen  and  three  or  four  others  shortly  afterward 
went  below  and  got  into  the  lazarette,  whence  they  handed  out 
twenty  cases  of  the  silver.  I  feigned  a  prodigious  interest, 
roaring  out  to  the  fellows  in  the  boat,  as  I  hung  over  the  rail, 
to  trim  more  by  the  head,  to  trim  more  by  the  stern,  to  keep 
the  stuff  amidships  for  the  sake  of  stability;  and  then  I  bid 
Teach  observe  that  three  tons  were  to  the  full  as  much  as 
should  go  per  trip.  "For,"  says  I,  "look  well,  and  you'll  find 
her  a  ton  deeper  than,  in  my  opinion,  her  safety  allows.  But 
what  are  we  sending  ashore?  Is  it  Thames  ballast?  Or  is  it 
something  more  precious  than  all  your  eyeballs  put  together? 
I'll  have  my  two  tons  go  alone.  No  other  man's  ton  shall  go 
along  with  mine,"  and  so  I  went  on  shouting. 

All  being  ready  the  crew  of  the  boat  entered  her.  They 
were  the  same  as  on  the  preceding  day.  I  regetted  this,  for 
I  had  hoped  that  Teach  or  Travers  or  Meehan — Call  I  did  not 
fear — would  have  taken  the  place  of  Friend,  who,  as  you  know, 
was  the  mildest  man  of  the  whole  bunch  of  rogues;  but  I  kept 
my  mouth  shut;  I  durst  make  no  suggestion  that  way.  We 
are  all  good  men,  the  fellows  would  have  said;  what  reason 
has  he  in  wishing  Friend  to  remain? 

Call  was  at  the  wheel.  I  sung  out  to  Meehan  to  lay  aft  and 
loose  the  trysail,  adding,  that  the  others  might  hear  me,  that 
the  brig  wanted  more  after-sail  to  keep  her  head  to.  The 
three  men  lay  aft,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  sail  was  set. 

In  this  time  the  longboat  was  slipping  through  the  water 
toward  the  land.  When  the  trysail  was  set  I  asked  Meehan, 
who  claimed  to  be  a  bit  of  a  cook  in  his  way,  to  boil  me  a  pot 
of  cocoa;  I  had  been  up  all  night,  I  said,  and  had  breakfasted 
ill  (the  girl  and  I  had  not  breakfasted  at  all).  Travers  and 
Teach  went  on  to  the  forecastle;  I  watched  them  light  their 
pipes,  coming  to  the  galley  for  a  light,  and  returning  to  the 
forecastle;  they  leaned  upon  the  rail  in  the  head,  and  watched 
the  boat. 

"I  shall  be  wanting  a  word  with' Teach  below  shortly,"  said 
I  to  Call;  "does  he  know  the  Sydney  coast?  I'd  like  him  to 
hit  upon  a  spot  for  casting  this  brig  away — something  to  keep 
in  mind.     There's  no  chart  aboard  that's  going  to  help  me  in 


MY  SCHEME.  Z^^Z 

that  job.  Keep  a  lookout.  Don't  leave  the  wheel,  and  mind 
you  hallo  if  I'm  wanted." 

I  entered  the  cabin,  and  found  the  lady  Aurora  standing  at 
the  table,  and  the  lad  Jimmy  near  the  door  of  my  berth. 

"The  hour  has  come,"  said  I,  feeling  myself  grown  pale 
on  a  sudden,  "and  the  man's  at  hand.  How  is  it  with 
you?" 

I  gently  grasped  her  wrist  and  looked  at  her. 

"Only  be  quick,  Senor  Fielding.  It  is  this  waiting  and 
waiting  that  tries  the  nerves,"  she  answered  in  effect. 

"How  is  it  with  you,  Jimmy?" 

"I'm  ready,  master." 

"Where's  the  bag?"  said  I  to  the  senorita. 

"It's  there"  said  she,  pointing  to  a  locker. 

"Sit  upon  it,  for  I  am  about  to  send." 

I  entered  my  berth  and  brought  out  a  chart  of  the  continent 
of  New  Holland.  I  carried  it  to  the  table  on  the  same  side 
on  which  the  lady  had  seated  herself,  and  spread  it,  putting, 
as  I  well  remember,  a  metal  mug  at  each  corner  to  keep  the 
curled  sheet  flat.  I  then  stepped  to  a  scuttle  and  peered 
through  it,  and  descried  the  sail  of  the  boat  close  in  with  the 
island.     I  turned  to  the  table  again  and  called  to  Jimmy. 

"Go  now  and  send  Teach  here,"  and  when  he  was  gone  I 
overhung  the  chart  in  a  posture  of  anxious  scrutiny;  though 
in  this  while  I  several  times  glanced  at  the  lady  Aurora,  who 
was  sitting  just  behind  me,  and  observed  that  she  sat  very 
still,  her  face  as  composed  as  at  any  time  since  I  had  known 
her,  her  eyes  bent  upon  a  book  which  she  had  taken  from  the 
table  before  sitting.  The  motion  of  the  brig  was  gentle;  the 
cabin  became  warm,  almost  hot;  a  little  while  before  I 
descended  I  had  looked  through  the  skylight  at  Jimmy,  who 
stood  beneath,  and  he  had  quietly  closed  and  secured  the 
frames. 

Teach  came  down,  and  behind  him  was  Jimmy.  He 
descended  the  steps  without  the  least  manner  of  suspicion. 
He  wore  a  round  hat,  and  his  feet  were  naked,  the  bottoms  of 
his  trousers  being  turned  up  midway  the  height  of  the  calves 
of  his  legs.  I  bade  him  uncover  in  the  presence  of  a  lady;  he 
asked  pardon,  and  threw  his  hat  down  upon  the  deck. 

"Here's  a  chart  of  New  Holland,"  said  I,  pointing  to  it. 
"D'ye  know  anything  of  the  coast  down  Port  Jackson  way?" 

"No,  sir,"  said  he. 

"Where's  this  brig  to  be  wrecked?     Come  you  here."     Hq 


364  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

came  to  my  side,  and  I  put  my  finger  upon  tlie  line  that 
denoted  the  coast  near  Port  Jackson,  holding  my  left  hand 
behind  me.  "All  hereabouts  is  wild  ground,  I  reckon — and  if 
the  brig's  to  be  stranded,  the  spot  should  be  within  a  comfort- 
able tramp  of  the  town  of  Sydney,"  and  as  I  pronounced  these 
words  I  motioned  with  my  left  hand,  on  which,  as  swiftly  as 
you  fetch  a  breath,  the  lady  Aurora  whipped  a  big  bag,  thick- 
ened for  the  face  with  wadding,  over  the  head  of  Teach,  drag- 
ging it  down  to  his  shoulders  and  holding  it  there,  and  all  as 
nimbly  as  the  hangman  pulls  down  the  cap  over  the  malefac- 
tor's face.  In  the  same  instant  of  her  doing  this  I  grasped 
Teach  by  his  right  arm  and  Jimmy  seized  him  by  his  left,  and 
pulling  out  a  pair  of  handcuffs  from  my  pocket  I  brought  the 
fellow's  wrists  together  and  manacled  him. 

His  first  struggles  were  furious;  but  how  should  he  be  able 
to  help  himself  in  the  grasp  of  two  men,  each  of  whom  was 
out  and  away  stronger  than  he?  He  kicked  and  plunged  with 
frantic  violence,  but  he  could  utter  no  sound.  He  was  fairly 
suffocated  by  the  thickly-lined  bag  which  Miss  Aurora  had 
whipped  down  over  his  head. 

Not  an  instant  was  to  be  lost;  moreover,  I  had  no  intention 
to  kill  the  man,  though  I  reckoned  by  the  gathering  faintness 
in  the  capers  he  cut  that  his  senses  were  going.  Grasping  him 
by  the  arms  Jimmy  and  I  dragged  him  aft  and  thrust  him  into 
a  spare  berth  that  lay  between  mine  and  the  cabin  I  had  occu- 
pied in  Greaves's  time.  Miss  Aurora  followed  and  handed  me 
a  gag  of  her  own  manufacture.  I  pulled  the  cap  off  the  man 
and  found  him  nearly  gone;  we  sat  him  on  a  locker  with  his 
back  against  the  ship's  side  and  I  gagged  him,  taking  care  to 
see  that  the  nostrils  were  clear.  So  there  he  was,  gagged, 
handcuffed,  and  very  nearly  dead,  and  there  was  nothing  to 
fear  from  him  at  present. 

I  shut  the  door  of  the  berth  and  went  again  to  the  chart, 
while  Miss  Aurora  sat  behind  me  upon  the  bag  as  before.  I 
slipped  a  second  pair  of  handcuffs  from  my  left  into  my  right 
pocket,  and  then  told  Jimmy  to  send  Travers  below. 

"If  he  asks  you  wliat  I  want,"  said  I,  "answer  that  Mr. 
Fielding  and  Teach  are  talking  about  casting  away  the  brig 
and  looking  at  the  chart  of  Australia." 

In  a  few  moments  Travers  arrived.  He  was  closely  followed 
by  Jimmy.  He  descended  the  steps  without  the  least  appear- 
ance of  misgiving.  I  perceived,  however,  that  in  a  moment 
he  began  to  cast  his  eyes  about  for  Teach, 


MV  SCHEME.  365 

"D'ye  know  anything  of  the  coast  of  New  Holland, 
Travers?" 

"Nothen,  sir." 

"Teach  and  I  have  been  talking  about  casting  this  brig 
away.  Teach'll  be  here  in  a  moment,"  said  I,  with  a  signifi- 
cant sideways  motion  of  my  head  toward  my  berth,  which  I 
was  willing  the  fellow  should  construe  as  he  pleased.  "This 
is  the  spot  which  Teach  recommends,"  said  I,  putting  my 
finger  upon  the  chart.  "Draw  near,  will  you.  You'll  under- 
stand my  meaning  when  your  eyes  are  on  the  drawing  of  the 
coast." 

He  came  at  once  to  my  side,  cap  in  hand.  I  bade  him 
observe  the  conformation  of  the  coast,  and  while  I  spoke  I 
made  a  motion  with  my  left  hand,  whereupon,  with  lightning 
speed,  the  cap  was  on  him!  The  man  halloed  faintly  inside: 
'twas  like  a  voice  from  the  height  of  a  tall  chimney;  then, 
Jimmy  and  I  bringing  his  brawny  arms  together,  I  slipped  the 
handcuffs  on. 

He  was  a  more  powerfully  built  man  than  Teach,  but  with- 
out that  devil's  desperate  spirit.  He  appeared  to  understand 
what  we  meant  to  do,  felt  his  helplessness,  and  after  a  brief, 
fierce  struggle  stood  quiet.  We  ran  him,  silent  and  suffocat- 
ing in  his  bag,  to  the  forward  cabin  on  the  larboard  side,  by 
which  time  he  was  nearly  spent  for  want  of  air,  so  that,  when 
we  drew  the  bag  off  his  head,  he  was  black  in  the  face.  I 
waited  a  few  minutes  till  he  rallied  somewhat,  then  gagged 
him  with  a  second  gag  of  Miss  Aurora's  manufacture.  We 
next  pulled  off  his  boots,  to  provide  against  his  kicking  at  the 
door,  and  threw  them  into  the  cabin,  and  shutting  him  up  I 
went  to  the  locker  in  which  I  had  stored  my  borrowings  from 
the  magazine,  as  you  have  heard,  and  thrust  a  couple  of 
loaded  pistols  into  my  pocket. 

My  lady  Aurora  had  fallen  into  a  chair:  she  was  deadly 
white  and  trembled  violently,  and  seemed  to  be  fainting.  I 
told  Jimmy  to  give  her  a  glass  of  brandy  and  follow  me  on 
deck.  I  dared  not  pause  now,  no,  not  even  though  her  life 
should  be  risked  by  my  going.  I  went  on  deck  and  stood  a 
minute  at  the  companion.  Call  was  at  the  wheel,  carelessly 
grasping  the  spokes.  I  looked  toward  the  island;  the  boat  was 
clearly  ashore,  her  sail  lowered,  and  nothing  therefore  to  be 
seen  of  her,  at  that  distance,  with  the  naked  eye. 

Takincc  no  notice  of  Call  I  walked  to  the  caboose  and 
looked  in,  expecting  to  see  Meehan  at  work  there  boihng  my 


366  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN! 

cocoa.  The  caboose  was  empty,  but  the  fire  burned  briskly 
as  though  freshly  trimmed,  and  a  saucepan  was  boiling  upon 
it.  I  stepped  swiftly  to  the  fore-scuttle,  that  is  to  say,  to  the 
hatch  by  which  the  sailors  entered  or  left  the  forecastle,  and, 
when  I  was  within  a  few  feet  of  it,  I  spied  Meehan's  head  in 
the  act  of  rising  to  come  on  deck.  I  sprang  and  struck  him 
hard,  crying  out,  "Keep  below  till  you're  wanted."  He  fell 
backward,  and  I  instantly  drove  the  cover  of  the  scuttle  over 
the  hatch  and  secured  it  by  its  bar. 

Call  remained  to  be  dealt  with.  As  I  walked  aft  Jimmy  came 
up  out  of  the  cabin.  Call  was  very  white.  He  let  go  the 
wheel,  and  cried   out,  "Mr.  Fielding,  where's  my  mates?" 

"Where  you'll  be  in  a  minute,  my  man,"  said  I,  pulling  out 
one  of  the  two  pistols  I  had  pocketed;  for  I  had  not  foreseen 
in  the  case  of  Meehan  so  easy  a  capture. 

"There's  no  need  to  show  me  that,"  said  the  fellow  in  his 
small  voice,  nodding  his  head  at  the  pistol,  "I  follows  your 
meaning,  and  I'll  work  as  a  good  man  if  ye'll  take  me  on." 

"No,  I  won't  trust  you.  Not  yet,  anyhow;  though  I  should 
be  mighty  glad  to  believe  you  trustworthy." 

"Try  me,  sir,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  No,  by !     Jimmy,  lay  hold  of  that  wheel  and  keep  it 

steady.  Call,  get  you  forward,"  and  I  pointed  with  my  pistol 
to  the  forecastle. 

He  went  like  a  lamb,  and  I  followed  at  his  heels.  Indeed, 
I  needed  no  weapon  witli  this  man;  in  strength  I  was  twice  his 
master;  in  nimbleness  and  the  art  of  fisticuffs  he  was  not 
within  a  league  of  my  longest  shadow.  I  could  have  tossed 
him  by  scruff  and  breech  over  the  rail,  and  have  drunk  a  pint 
with  the  same  breath  I  did  it  in. 

When  we  came  to  the  scuttle,  I  told  him  to  open  it  and 
descend.  Meehan  roared  out,  when  he  saw  daylight;  I 
answered  that  I  would  send  a  bullet  through  his  brains  if  he 
made  any  noise,  that  his  and  Call's  wants  should  be  seen  to 
])resently,  and  that  I  was  going  to  sail  the  brig  home  to  save 
the  men  who  had  been  left  with  me  from  the  gallows. 

"Where's  Teach  and  Travers?"  bawled  Meehan. 

"Dead — dead — dead!"  I  cried,  then  closed  and  secured 
the  scuttle  as  before,  and  ran  to  the  cabin. 

I  found  my  lady  very  much  better.  She  had  drunk  a  little 
brandy,  and  was  eating  a  biscuit;  the  trembling  had  left  her, 
and  her  face  was  steady. 

"AH  the  nieii  are  secured."  said  I, 


MY  SCHEME,  367 

She  clapped  her  hands  and  cried,  "You  have  been  very 
quick,"  and  then  laughed  with  hysteric  vehemence;  and,  no 
doubt,  to  satisfy  me  that  she  was  composed,  she  at  the  same 
moment  got  up  from  her  chair,  and  said,  "What  is  next  to  be 
done?" 

"Follow  me,"  said  I. 

1  went  on  deck,  and  pointing  the  glass  at  the  landing-place, 
took  a  long  look.  The  fellows  had  hauled  the  boat  high  and 
dry;  I  could  not  see  what  sort  of  a  beach  it  was;  the  boat  lay 
beyond  the  thin  line  of  feathering  surf.  There  were  figures 
about  her  in  motion.  I  counted  all  the  men  who  had  gone  in 
her.  The  telescope  w^as  poor — poor  even  for  that  age  of 
marine  spy-glasses — and  I  was  unable  to  distinguish  clearly. 
But  the  boat  was  high  and  dry,  and  the  men  were  out  of  her 
and  busy  with  their  cargo;  that  was  certain;  so  I  put  down 
the  glass,  and,  going  to  the  wheel,  called  to  the  seilorita  to 
come  to  me. 

"Hold  it  thus,"  said  I. 

She  at  once  stationed  herself  in  Jimmy's  place  and  grasped 
the  spokes.  Then,  followed  by  the  lad,  I  ran  to  the  cabin, 
and,  together,  out  of  the  locker  we  brought  up  three  rounds 
for  the  long  brass  pivoted  twenty-four  pounder.  We  likewise 
loaded  with  all  possible  speed  six  muskets,  which,  with  the 
remaining  pistols  that  lay  in  the  locker,  we  conveyed  on  deck. 
When  this  was  done,  I  charged  the  long  gun,  taking  care  to 
see  that  all  was  ready  for  quickly  reloading. 

"Now,  Jimniy,"  said  I,  "it  is  time  to  swing  the  main  topsail 
yard  and  be  off.  " 

The  wind  hung  in  the  north;  it  was  a  little  pleasant  breeze, 
with  just  enough  of  weight  to  tremble  the  water  into  a  darker 
dye  of  blue  with  the  summer  rippling  and  wrinkling  of  it,  and 
to  put  a  dance  into  the  blinding  sparkles  under  the  sun.  I 
went  forward  with  the  lad,  and  first  we  hoisted  the  standing- 
jib;  then  went  to  the  main  braces  and,  the  wind  being  very 
light,  we  swung  the  yards  easily.  The  topgallant  sails  had 
been  clewed  up  on  the  previous  day,  and  had  hung  by  their 
gear  unstowed  all  night.  Both  yards  were  heavy,  for  the 
Black  Watch  was  very  square  in  her  rig;  so  to  masthead  the 
canvas  we  led  the  halliards  to  the  little  capstan  on  the  quarter- 
deck, and  set  the  sails  with  fairly  taut  leeches.  A  couple  of 
staysails  we  also  ran  aloft,  by  which  time  the  brig  had  wore. 
We  then  trimmed  for  the  northerly  draught,  and  in  less  than 
twenty  minutes  from  the  start  of  the  operations  the  brig  was 


368  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

Standing  eastward,  and  slowly  gathering  way,  with  Jimmy  at 
the  wheel,  holding  the  little  ship  steady  to  my  directions, 
myself  near  him,  glass  in  hand,  watching  the  men  ashore,  and 
the  girl  at  my  side. 

I  had  reckoned  on  this — that,  when  the  men  saw  me  fill  on 
the  brig  they'd  suppose  something  to  make  me  uneasy  had 
hove  into  sight,  or  that  I  was  maneuvering  to  take  up  a  new 
position.  I  guessed  they'd  never  imagine  for  a  long  while 
that  I  was  running  away  with  the  brig.  I  had  taken  particular 
care  for  weeks  past  that  they  should  observe  nothing  in  me  to 
excite  distrust.  And  then  there  were  Teach  and  the  others; 
and  I  counted  upon  Bol's  and  upon  Bol's  mates'  confidence 
in  the  loyalty  of  those  shipmates.  So  they'd  watch  us  for 
some  time  without  suspicion;  and  every  minute  was  precious, 
because  every  minute  the  distance  widened  and  the  pace 
briskened. 

Thus  had  my  calculations  forerun,  and  now  I  stood  with 
the  telescope  at  my  eye,  watching  and  waiting. 

Five  minutes  passed — no  more.  I  had  turned  to  look  at  the 
compass  and  to  glance  aloft;  and  now  I  leveled  the  glass 
afresh. 

"They're  after  us!"  I  cried. 

In  those  five  minutes  they  had  launched  the  boat  and,  as  I 
looked,  were  hoisting  the  sail  and  throwing  their  oars  over.  I 
was  mightily  startled  at  first.  I  had  never  imagined  they'd 
prove  so  keen  in  their  guessing;  but  reflection  speedily  cooled 
me,  and  brought  my  nerves  to  their  proper  bearing. 

The  boat  gained  on  us  slowly.  The  pace  of  the  brig  was 
about  four  miles  an  hour;  the  boat's  a  mile  faster  than  that. 
Presently  I  could  count  the  steady  pulse  of  her  five  oars.  I 
had  no  fear,  but  I  was  very  eager  to  come  off  with  the  brig 
without  killing  any  of  those  men.     The  lady  Aurora  said: 

"They're  catching  us  up." 

"Yes,"  said  I;  "and  if  they  can  come  within  hail  they'll 
make  me  a  hundred  fine  promises  and  entreat  me  to  take  them 
on  board;  and,  a  few  minutes  after  they  are  on  board,  my 
corpse  will  be  floating  astern — another  shocking  example  of 
forecastle  gratitude.  I'm  done  with  'em,"  said  I,  scarcely 
supposing  while  I  talked  that  she  wholly  understood  me;  and, 
putting  my  hand  ui)on  the  long  brass  gun,  I  moved  it  until  the 
muzzle  was  over  the  boat. 

I  knew  the  little  fabric  was  out  of  range,  but  I  wished  the 
men  to  see  the  feather-leap  of  white  water,  the  flash  of  the 


AfY  SCHEME.  3^9 

missile,  that  they  might  understand  I  shot  with  ball ;  and, 
having  everything  to  my  hand,  I  bid  Miss  Aurora  step  a  little 
aside,  and  fired.  The  gun  roared  in  thunder,  and  belched  out 
a  big  cloud  of  smoke.  I  dodged  the  smoke  to  mark  the  flight 
of  the  ball,  which  hit  the  water  several  cables'  lengths  this  side 
the  boat.  If  the  spurt  of  it  was  plain  to  me,  it  was  plain  to 
them.  I  put  Jimmy  to  the  gun  to  clean  it  while  I  watched  the 
boat.  She  continued  in  pursuit;  but  now,  by  aid  of  the  glass, 
I  made  out  something  white  flying  at  her  masthead — a  signal 
of  truce,  as  though  the  fellows  and  I  had  been  at  war.  Some 
man  must  have  torn  up  his  shirt  to  produce  that  flrag;  for  there 
were  no  white  handkerchiefs  in  the  longboat,  and  nothing  to 
answer  to  what  was  flying  save  what  one  or  another  carried  on 
his  back. 

"I  want  no  truce!  I  want  no  peace!  I  want  to  have  noth- 
ing whatever  to  do  with  you!"  I  cried,  while  I  went  about  to 
load  the  long  gun  again. 

This  time  I  resolved  to  load  with  case  as  well  as  round,  that 
the  splash  might  emphasize  my  hint.  1  asked  Aurora  to  hold 
the  wheel,  and  bid  Jimmy  rush  into  the  cabin  and  bring  up 
some  canister  out  of  the  locker.  I  clapped  in  some  case  on 
top  of  the  ball,  took  aim,  and  fired.  The  brig  thrilled  to  the 
explosion.  I  wondered  to  myself  what  the  imprisoned  fellows 
forward  and  the  two  men  below  would  be  thinking  of  this  bel- 
lowing of  artillery. 

The  ball  and  musket-shot  struck  the  sea  before  I  saw  the 
splash;  the  smoke  of  the  gunpowder  hung  a  bit,  clouding  aft 
before  blowing  clear,  and  I  could  not  spring  to  the  side  in  time 
to  see.  I  ordered  Jimmy  to  make  ready  the  gun  for  loading 
afresh,  being  now  hot  in  heart  with  the  noise  of  the  firing  and 
angry,  too,  with  the  stubborn  pursuit  of  the  devils  astern;  and 
I  told  Miss  Aurora  that,  if  they  did  not  shift  their  helm,  I'd 
blow  them  out  of  water. 

"I  want  no  man's  life,"  I  exclaimed — "not  even  Yan  Bol's; 
but  if  they  creep  much  closer,  and  I  can  manage  to  plump  a 
ball  among  those " 

But  here  my  speech  was  arrested;  for,  having  talked  with 
my  eye  at  the  glass,  I  saw  them  lower  the  lugsail  on  board  the 
longboat;  they  then  pulled  her  around  and  hoisted  her  sail 
afresh. 

"There  she  goes!"  cried  I. 

''De  veras !  Oh,  glorious!  Oh,  glorious!"  exclaimed  the 
senorita,  dropping  the  wheel  to  clap  her  liands. 


370  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

"Yes,  there  she  goes,"  said  I,  "the  second  hint  sufficed. 
I  wish  the  shot  may  not  have  hurt  any  man  of  them.  Was  she 
out  of  reach?  Yes,  there  she  goes.  Wise  ye  are,  Yan  Bol. 
I  should  have  sunk  you.  Never  should  you  have  gained  foot- 
ing aboard  this  brig.  And  has  not  the  breeze  slightly  fresh- 
ened too  since  you  started  in  pursuit?  Ay,  there  is  a  little 
foam  in  our  wake,  and  the  glance  under  the  sun  is  keen.  We 
should  have  run  you  out  of  sight,  Yan  Bol,  and  you  in  pursu- 
ing would  have  run  the  island  out  of  sight,  and  then  without 
compass,  without  provisions,  without  water,  how  would  ye 
have  managed,  you   scoundrel  Dutchman?" 

I  put  down  the  glass  and  clapped  the  boy  on  the  shoulder. 

"Jimmy,  you  have  done  well.  Yours'll  be  a  good  share  of 
dollars  for  this  job.  Now  jump,  my  lively,  and  get  some  break- 
fast for  the  lady  and  me — and  some  breakfast  for  yourself." 

The  poor  felloAV,  grinning  with  delight,  fled  forward  with 
the  speed  of  a  hare.  I  took  the  wheel  from  the  senorita,  and 
she  stood  beside  me. 

"What'll  dose  men  do?" 

"They  will  return  to  the  island." 

"Will  not  dey  starf?" 

"They  have  plenty  of  provisions,  and  they  have  a  good 
boat. ' ' 

"What  will  dey  do  with  de  money  dey  have  taken?" 

"May  it  founder  them!  The  dogs!  To  force  us  down 
here  when  we  should  be  in  the  Channel,  or  at  home!  Here 
am  I  now  with  this  big  brig  on  my  single  pair  of  hands,  and 
you  and  the  boy  as  helps  and  four  horrible  scoundrels  to  senti- 
nel and  feed." 

I  felt  sick  with  heart-weariness  at  that  moment.  An  eter- 
nity of  waters  stretched  between  me  and  England  in  the  meas- 
ureless miles  of  Southern  Ocean,  in  the  measureless  miles  of 
south  and  north  Atlantic.  How  was  I  to  manage  with  one 
half-crazy  boy  and  a  girl  to  help  me,  and  four  prisoners  to 
guard? 

"De  dollars  are  saved,"  said  the  senorita,  bringing  her  eyes 
with  a  flash  in  them  from  tlie  boat  to  my  face. 

"You  are  the  greatest  heroine  the  world  has  ever  produced," 
said  I. 

"It  is  a  day  of  glory  for  you,  and  your  money  is  safe,"  said 
she. 

I  looked  at  her  a  little  sullenly;  1  was  in  no  temper  for 
irony. 


MV   SCHEME.  371 

"If  de  money  is  safe,  I  am  safe,"  said  she,  "for  one  goes 
before  de  other,  and  to  be  safe  I  am  content  to  be  second." 

I  heeded  her  not;  her  tongue  was  a  rattle,  and  very  heedless 
at  times.  After  a  little,  finding  I  did  not  speak,  she  looked  at 
the  boat  through  the  glass.  Long  practice  had  now  enabled 
her  to  keep  open  the  eye  she  applied  to  the  telescope.  I,  too, 
gripping  the  spokes,  gazed  astern;  the  sail  of  the  boat  was  like 
the  wing  of  a  white  butterfly  out  on  the  dark  blue,  that  thrilled 
with  the  breeze.  The  island  hung  massive  and  rugged  in  the 
sky,  but  already  was  it  growing  blue  in  the  blue  air. 

At  this  time  Jimmy  came  along  with  some  breakfast.  He 
put  the  tray  upon  the  deck.  The  pot  of  cocoa  Meehan  was  to 
have  cooked  had  overboiled  and  was  burnt.  Jimmy  brought 
us  some  fresh  coffee,  salt  beef,  and  biscuit.  The  girl  and  I 
ate  and  drank,  Jimmy  meanwhile  holding  the  wheel.  My 
lady  asked  me  how  the  prisoners  were  to  breakfast?  Could 
they  feed  themselves  with  handcuffs? 

"No,"  said  I. 

"Thev'U  need  to  be  regularly  supplied  with  food,"  said  she. 
"Who'U  feed  them?" 

" Farece  que  quiere  hacer  biien  ttempo,''  said  I  to  change  the 
subject. 

When  I  had  breakfasted  I  held  the  wheel  that  Jimmy  might 
eat.  I  was  forever  racking  my  brains  to  conceive  how  I  was 
to  manage,  alone  as  I  was  with  the  youth.  The  girl  was  of  no 
earthly  use.  Indeed,  for  the  matter  of  that,  the  boy  himself 
did  not  know  how  to  steer,  and  was  a  poor  sailor  aloft,  though 
as  "an  idler"  he  was  expected,  and  was  used  to  help  the  men 
in  reefing  and  in  putting  the  brig  about.  I  was  grateful  for 
the  beautiful  morning  with  its  gentle  breeze.  "Perhaps,"  I 
said  to  myself,  "I  shall  have  worked  out  some  theory  of  navi- 
gating the  brig  with  the  aid  of  Jimmy,  before  a  change  of 
weather  happens." 

The  lad  took  the  wheel,  and  I  went  below  to  remove  the 
gags  from  the  men.  I  had  a  brace  of  loaded  pistols  in  my 
pocket,  and  I  pulled  out  one  of  them,  and  looking  to  its  prim- 
ing, I  walked  to  the  berth  in  which  we  had  thrown  Teach, 
and  opened  the  door.  The  man's  posture  was  that  in  which 
we  had  left  him,  saving  that  his  head  had  fallen  forward.  I 
did  not  like  his  looks,  and  felt  afraid;  I  went  up  to  him  and 
took  his  arm;  he  did  not  stir.  I  lifted  his  head  by  the  chin, 
and  saw  death  in  his  eyes.  On  this,  full  of  horror  and  pity,  I 
removed   the  gag.     It   was  a  piece  of  drill   with  a  lump    of 


372  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

stuffing  stitched  amidships  to  fill  the  mouth.  Aurora  had 
made  it,  as  she  had  made  the  bag  with  which  we  had  stifled  the 
two  men.  The  stuffed  part  of  the  gag  that  had  filled  the 
man's  mouth  was  soaked  with  blood,  and  when  I  pulled  the 
gag  off,  and  the  head  fell  forward,  a  quantity  of  dark  blood 
followed. 

No  doubt  he  had  ruptured  a  blood  vessel;  in  any  case,  his 
death  was  not  to  be  laid  to  the  account  of  the  gag,  in  other 
words,  to  our  having  suffocated  him.  Nevertheless,  I  was  as 
greatly  shocked,  and  viewed  him  with  as  much  horror  as 
though  he  had  died  by  my  hands. 

I  then  bethought  me  of  Travers  and  rushed,  with  my  heart 
beating  hard,  to  his  berth,  dreading  to  find  him  dead  likewise. 
The  man  was  standing  upright,  looking  at  the  sea  through  the 
scuttle.  He  turned  when  I  entered,  and  presented  his  gagged 
face  to  me.  I  thanked  God  to  find  him  alive.  So  far  we  had 
managed  all  this  business  bloodlessly.  I  am  one,  and  ever  was 
one,  of  those  who  count  human  life  the  most  sacred  thing 
under  God's  eye. 

I  had  thrust  the  pistol  into  my  pocket  at  the  sight  of  Teach, 
and  now  kept  it  there  in  the  presence  of  this  man  Travers, 
gagged  and  handcuffed  as  he  was.  He  motioned  piteously 
with  his  head,  lifting  his  fists  a  little  way  toward  his  face.  I 
at  once  took  the  gag  off,  and  threw  it  aside.  He  tried  to 
speak;  he  fetched  many  breaths,  during  which  some  froth 
gathered  upon  his  lips;  he  then,  in  a  dim,  husky  voice  that 
seemed  to  rise  from  the  bottom  of  his  chest,  exclaimed: 

"Water!" 

I  ran  into  the  cabin  and  filled  a  mug  with  fresh  water;  he 
remained  standing  where  I  had  left  him.  I  put  the  mug  to  his 
mouth,  and  he  drank  long  and  deep.  The  w^ater  refreshed 
him,  and  he  found  his  voice. 

"What  are  ye  going  to  do  with  me?"  he  asked. 

"Keep  you  under  hatches,"  said  I. 

"Where's  Bol  and  the  others?" 

"Ashore  on  the  island." 

"Left  to  their  fate,  sir?" 

"You  know  better.  Have  they  not  the  longboat,  plenty 
of '  provisions  and  water?  If  Captain  Greaves  were  alive 
he'd  yardarm  the  four  of  you — no,  not  the  four;  Teach  is 
dead." 

"Did  you  kill  him'" 

"He's  dead,"  I  shouted  in  a  rage;   "I  have  killed  no  man. 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  373 

You  would  have  killed  me — there  is  no  stain  on  ray  con- 
science." 

"Are  ye  carrying  the  brig  home?" 

"Where  else?" 

"Teach  dead!"  he  muttered.  "Mr.  Fielding,  for  God's 
sake,  take  me  on.     You'll  find  me  a  true  man." 

"Which  d'ye  choose — the  bilboes  or  those  bracelets  ?  " 

He  answered  me  with  a  savage  stare.     I  turned  to  go. 

"Leave  me  some  water,"  he  called. 

I  filled  the  mug  afresh,  placed  it  where  he  could  put  his  lips 
to  it,  and  locked  the  door  upon  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A    QUAKER    SKIPPER, 

I  LOOKED  in  upon  Teach  again.  The  sight  was  piteous. 
The  handcuffs  gave  a  wild  pathos  to  that  picture  of  death. 
The  sight  was  not  to  be  borne.  I  removed  the  handcuffs,  and 
then  took  a  steady  view  of  his  face,  and  felt  the  man's  wrist 
to  make  sure  that  he  was  dead.  He  was  stone  dead;  and  I 
went  on  deck. 

Miss  Aurora  leaned  upon  her  elbows  on  the  rail,  looking  at 
the  Island  of  Amsterdam,  that  was  fading  into  a  dark  blue 
cloud.     I  said: 

"Teach  is  dead." 

She  started,  and  shrunk  back  and  stared  at  me,  and 
instantly  reflected  the  expression  she  saw  in  my  face.  Her 
features  then  relaxed,  and,  slightly  shrugging  her  shoulders, 
she  exclaimed : 

"He  was  not  a  good  man.  Yet  good  men  are  dying  every 
day.     Teach's  time  had  come.      Did  we  kill  him?" 

"I  don't  think  so." 

"That  pleases  me.  I  would  have  killed  him  for  my  honor 
or  for  my  liberty.  It  is  God's  doing,  and  it  must  be 
good." 

I  found  that  Jimmy  kept  the  brig  to  her  course  fairly  well, 
and  roamed  about  the  deck  for  awhile  by  myself,  considering 
how  I  should  act  if  we  did  not  presently,  and,  indeed,  speed- 
ily, fall  in  with  a  ship  to  help  us  with  the  loan  of  two  or  three 
men.  I  then  asked  Miss  Aurora  to  hold  the  wheel,  and  took 
Jimmy  below  with  me  to  help  clap  the  bilboes  on  to  Travers, 
that  I  might  relieve  the  poor  devil  of  his  handcuffs.     While 


374  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

I  put  the  bilboes  on,  Travers  asked  me  why  I  refused  to  give 
him  a  chance  to  turn  to. 

"You've  had  a  chance  of  proving  yourself  an  honest  man 
for  weeks  past.     I'll  not  trust  you  now." 

"Mr.  Fielding,  we  meant  to  act  square  by  you." 

"Yes,  by  knocking  me  over  the  head  when  I'd  served  your 
turn." 

I  sent  Jimmy  in  a  hurry  for  provisions  and  water  to  place  in 
this  prisoner's  berth.  The  beast  couldn't  read,  or  I  should 
have  tossed  him  a  book  or  two.  I  was  eager  to  regain  the 
deck,  for  her  ladyship  was  on  no  account  to  be  left  alone  at 
the  wheel.  Travers  asked  for  his  pipe  and  tobacco.  I  told 
him  he  should  have  them;  and  then,  threatening  to  shoot  him 
through  the  head  if  he  made  any  noise,  attempted  to  break 
out,  or  acted  in  any  way  to  imperil  the  safety  of  the  ship,  I 
locked  him  up. 

I  put  a  loaded  pistol  into  Jimmy's  hand,  keeping  a  brace  in 
my  pocket;  and,  finding  that  the  brig  made  a  straight  wake  to 
the  set  of  the  helm,  as  surrendered  by  me  to  Miss  Aurora,  with 
the  request  that  she  would  hold  the  spokes  steady,  I  went  for- 
ward with  the  lad,  lifted  the  hatch,  and  sung  out. 

Both  men  came  under  the  hatch  and  looked  up.  I  let  them 
see  that  the  boy  and  I  were  armed,  and  said: 

"Call,  I  am  here  to  give  you  a  chance.  If  you'll  come  on 
deck  and  help  me  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  brig,  good  and 
well." 

"I  asked  to  turn  to  afore,"  said  he,  putting  his  hand  on  the 
coaming  as  though  to  come  up. 

"I'm  willing  to  turn  to,"  said  Meehan. 

"I'll  abide  by  Call's  behavior,"  said  I. 

"It's  cussed  hot  and  black  down  here,"  exclaimed  Meehan. 
"Aint  ye  going  to  let  us  have  a  light?" 

"You  shall  have  a  light,"  said  I;  "but  mind  your  fire.  We 
have  the  boats,  and  I  shan't  lift  the  hatch." 

"What  made  ye  clip  me  o'er  the  head?"  he  growled.  "I'd 
ha'  stepped  back  had  ye  arsted  me." 

"Come  up,  Call."       ' 

The  man  rose  instantly,  and  stood  blinking  to  the  splendor 
of  the  morning. 

"Go  aft  and  take  the  wheel,"  said  I.  "The  course  is  as 
you  find  it." 

I  was  about  to  put  on  the  hatch  cover. 

"Aint  I  to  be  let  up?"  said  Meehan. 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  375 

"No." 

"Aint  I  to  have  anything  to  eat  and  drink?" 

"Yes." 

"Hell  seize  the  blooming  lot  of  ye!"  said  he,  and  disap- 
peared in  a  single  stride. 

I  closed  the  hatch  cover,  but  opened  it  shortly  after  to  hand 
down  a  breaker  of  water,  a  quantity  of  provisions,  and  oil  for 
the  forecastle  lamp.  I  say  to  "hand  down";  but  the  ruffian 
was  so  sulky  that  he  refused  to  answer  to  my  call,  and  I  had 
to  tell  him  what  I  had  brought,  and  to  threaten  him  with  thirst 
and  starvation,  before  he  would  come  under  the  hatch  to 
receive  the  things.  The  belch  of  heat  and  of  foul  atmos- 
phere was  so  disgusting  when  I  first  lifted  the  cover,  that  I 
guessed  the  fellow  would  suffocate  if  I  did  not  give  him  some 
fresh  air.  The  cover  opened  on  strong  hinges.  I  procured  a 
bit  of  chain;  then  inserted  a  wedge  to  keep  the  cover  open  to 
about  half  the  length  of  your  thumb.  I  now  passed  the  chain 
through  the  staple  and  the  eye  of  the  bar,  securing  the  links  at 
a  place  out  of  reach  of  our  friend's  knife.  This  done,  I  went 
aft  with  Jimmy,  and  could  scarcely  forbear  laughing  to  observe 
the  lady  Aurora  in  the  posture  of  haranguing  Call.  She  stood 
up  before  him,  and  menaced  him  with  her  forefinger;  and  she 
was  saying  as  I  approached: 

"If  you  do  not  behave  well  it  is  death;  I  am  a  Spanish  lady 
and  know  not  fear.  I  will  kill  any  man  for  my  lilDerty  or  for 
my  honor,  and  my  liberty  I  must  have,  but  I  have  it  not  while 
I  am  in  this  little  ship.  I  desire  to  be  at  Madrid.  Be  honest 
and  help  Mr.  Fielding,  and  your  reward  will  be  great.  I  tell 
this,  I — I — the  Sefiorita  de  la  Cueva — she  tells  you  this  on  her 
honor  as  a  Spanish  lady."  She  touched  her  bosom  with  her 
forefinger,  then  looked  round  and  saw  me  close  by. 

"I  am  willing  to  prove  a  true  man,"  said  Call,  "this  here 
mucking  job  was  never  my  relish.  1  was  never  for  casting 
this  here  brig  away.  But  how's  one  voice  to  sound  when  a 
whole  blooming  squadron  of  throats  is  a-hollering?  " 

"Jump  aloft  and  stow  that  topgallant  sail  along  with 
Jimmy,"  said  I. 

With  the  help  of  this  man  Call  I  snugged  the  brig  down  to 
topsails  and  forecourse  as  a  provision  against  change  of 
weather.  I  kept  him  on  deck  all  day,  and  he  ate  on  deck 
under  my  eye;  he  behaved  well,  yet  I  dared  not  trust  him; 
while  I  slept  he  might  liberate  the  other  two,  and  then  truly 
should  I  be  a  dead  man;  for  of  course  Meehan  and  Travers 


376  LIST,   YE  LANDSMEN ! 

secretly  raged  against  me,  and  would  take  all  the  risks  of  wash- 
ing about  without  a  navigator  and  of  being  hanged  if  they  were 
boarded  and  the  truth  discovered;  all  risks  would  they  accept, 
I  say,  to  be  revenged  upon  me.  I  took  Call  below  into  the 
cabin  and  made  him  help  me  drag  Teach's  body  out  of  the 
berth  it  lay  in;  I  then  put  his  legs  in  irons  to  keep  him  quiet 
through  the  night.  He  protested  violently,  and  his  remon- 
strance often  rose  into  coarse,  injurious  language. 

"I'll  trust  you  presently,  but  not  now,"  said  I,  and  so  1 
locked  the  door  and  came  away.  I  heard  him  swearing,  and 
then  he  began  to  sing  as  I  went  on  deck. 

It  was  some  time  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock.  All  the 
stars  were  out,  the  sky  was  cloudless,  and  the  evening  as  beau- 
tiful as  the  morning  had  been  splendid.  The  wind  had  shifted 
into  the  east,  and  was  a  small  soft  wind;  it  held  our  little 
show  of  canvas  steady,  and  the  brig  rippled  quietly  onward 
over  the  wide  dark  sea.  I  stationed  my  lady  Aurora  at  the 
wheel  and  entered  the  cabin  with  Jimmy;  there  we  made  fast 
a  cannon  ball  to  the  feet  of  the  dead  man  Teach,  and  picking 
him  up  we  carried  him  to  the  gangway,  which  we  opened  that 
his  plunge  might  be  from  a  little  height  only.  I  was  a  sailor; 
for  many  months  Teach  had  been  a  shipmate  of  mine;  I  had 
haled  him — but  he  was  dead  and  his  last  toss  at  a  sailor's  hand 
must  be  decorous  and  reverent.  So  we  dropped  him  gently 
feet  foremost  and  he  went  down  instantly,  leaving  behind  him 
a  little  cloud  of  fire  that  was  sparkling  even  when  it  had  slided 
into  the  vessel's  wake. 

Four  days  passed.  I  will  not  stop  to  explain  how  we  man- 
aged; shall  I  tell  you  why?  Because,  when  I  look  into  the 
mirror  of  my  memory  for  the  vision  of  what  happened  in  those 
four  days  I  find  the  presentment  dim,  vague,  foggy.  These 
things  I  recollect;  that  I  did  not  trust  Call,  that  I  freed  him 
from  time  to  time  that  he  might  take  a  trick  at  the  wheel, 
threatening  to  stop  his  food  and  water  if  he  refused,  and  that 
every  night  at  eight  bells  or  thereabouts  I  put  him  away  with 
the  bilboes  on.  That  I  kept  the  other  two  men  imprisoned, 
supplying  them  every  morning  with  provisions  for  twenty-four 
hours.  That  I  held  the  brig's  head  for  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  praying  daily  for  the  sight  of  a  ship  and  beholding 
nothing.  That  for  two  days  after  our  losing  sight  of  Amster- 
dam Island,  the  weather  continued  very  glorious,  then  dark- 
ened with  a  wind  that  breezed  up  out  of  the  southward  and 
blew  fresh,  but  happily  never  too  hard  for  our  whole  topsails. 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  377 

These  things  I  remember. 

I  was  awakened  on  the  night  of  the  fourth  or,  let  me  say,  in 
the  dark  hours  of  the  morning  of  the  fifth  day  by  the  boy 
Jimmy  calling  my  name.  I  had  wrapped  myself  up  in 
Greaves'  cloak,  sat  me  down  near  the  wheel,  at  which  I  had 
been  standing  for  two  hours,  and  had  fallen  into  a  deep  sleep 
without  intending  to  sleep.  The  lad  had  taken  the  helm  from 
me;  when  he  called  I  sprang  to  my  feet. 

"What  is  it?" 

"See  that  light,  master?" 

I  looked  and  saw  what  I  supposed  was  a  ship  on  fire.  A 
ruddy  glare  was  coloring  the  sky  at  the  extremity  of  the  sea 
about  three  points  on  the  lee  bow.  I  thought  to  myself,  if 
she  is  a  ship  on  fire  and  beyond  control,  her  people  will  help 
me  to  navigate  the  brig  home.  The  fancy,  the  hope,  elated 
me;  I  was  wide  awake  on  a  sudden,  though  I  had  sat  down 
dog  tired. 

A  long  swell  was  rolling  out  of  the  south,  and  a  five-knot 
breeze  was  blowing  off  our  larboard  quarter.  I  put  the  helm 
up  for  the  light,  and  when  I  had  it  fair  ahead  I  gave  the 
spokes  to  Jimmy,  and  fetched  the  telescope  out  of  the  cabin 
where,  on  a  locker,  lay  the  lady  Aurora  sleeping.  The  tele- 
scope resolved  the  red  light  into  several  tongues  of  flame 
which  waxed  and  waned ;  I  had  then  no  doubt  whatever  that 
the  fire  was  a  burning  ship,  and  forthwith  fell  to  walking  first 
to  one  then  to  the  other  side  of  the  brig,  for  long  spells  at  a 
time  overhanging  the  bulwark  rail,  straining  my  sight  into  the 
darkness,  and  hearkening  with  all  my  ears. 

By  and  by,  recollecting  that  an  empty  tar  barrel  stood  upon 
the  forecastle,  I  resolved  to  make  a  flare.  I  rolled  the  barrel 
aft,  kindled  it,  and  Jimmy  and  I  flung  the  barrel  overboard. 

It  burnt  finely,  and  lighted  up  a  great  space  of  the  sea.  If 
the  people  of  the  burning  ship  were  in  the  neighborhood 
they'd  know  by  the  fire  upon  the  water  that  help  was  at  hand, 
and  rest  on  their  oars  till  daybreak,  which  was  hard  by. 

When  the  dawn  broke  the  ship  was  about  a  mile  distant. 
Smoke  was  rising  from  her  decks.  I  sought  in  vain  in  all 
directions  for  a  boat.  I  saw  no  fire  now  on  board  the  ship, 
and  when  I  pointed  the  telescope  I  perceived  that  she  was 
hove  to,  and  that  the  smoke  was  local  as  though  it  rose  from 
chimneys.  Between  us  and  the  ship  was  a  vast  lump  of  red 
stuff  that  lifted  and  fell;  it  was  scored  and  flaked  with  white, 
and   its  redness  was  that  of  blood.     The  sun  came  up   and 


378  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

touched  it,  and  now  I  perceived — by  this  time  Ave  had  neared 
it — that  the  loathsome  bulk  was  a  part  of  a  great  whale,  freshly 
"cut  in,"  as  it  is  termed.  A  number  of  birds  were  on  it,  and 
they  tore  the  horrid  mass  with  their  beaks,  and  many  birds 
hovered  over  it. 

I  looked  very  hard  at  the  ship.  I  seemed  to  know  her. 
Her  numerous  davits  and  crowd  of  boats  bespoke  her  a  whaler, 
and  I  knew  by  the  sight  of  that  vast  heap  of  whale  which  had 
gone  adrift  that  she  was  "trying  out" — that  is,  boiling  down 
the  blubber  that  came  from  the  whale.  In  fact,  my  nose  told 
me  of  what  was  going  on  w^hen  I  was  half  a  mile  away. 

The  flash  of  the  sun  on  the  skylight  awakened  Miss  Au- 
rora; she  came  on  deck,  and  cried  out  on  beholding  the 
whaler. 

"This  is  a  very  wonderful  thing,"  said  I.  "Do  you  know 
that  ship?" 

She  stared  hard  and  shook  her  head. 

"She  is  the  Virginia  Creeper,  whaler,  of  Whitby,"  said  I, 
"we  spoke  her  t'other  side  the  Horn." 

"She  is  on  fire,"  cried  the  girl,  "and — Ave  Maria  !  What 
is  that?"  she  exclaimed,  pointing  to  the  bloody  mass  of  whale 
that  was  on  our  beam. 

We  floated  slowly  down  to  the  ship;  the  wind  had  blackened 
at  sunrise,  and  our  canvas  was  small.  The  sky  was  dark  in 
the  south  whence  the  swell  was  running,  and  a  bright  blue  all 
about  the  north  and  east.  We  approached  the  ship,  and  I  saw 
many  men  on  board  of  her  watching  us.  Some  of  the  faces 
showed  in  the  telescope  of  a  copper  color,  and  I  guessed  they 
were  natives  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. 

Miss  Aurora  teased  me  with  questions,  with  sounding 
exclamations  in  Spanish  and  English.  I  begged  her  to  hold 
her  tongue.  I  wanted  to  think.  Should  I  give  the  whole 
plain  story  of  our  voyage  to  the  captain  of  that  ship?  Should 
I  tell  him  that  I  had  twelve  tons  of  silver  on  board,  and  three 
prisoners  of  a  crew  who  had  possessed  themselves  of  three 
tons,  but  who  had  meant  to  plunder  the  whole  and  bury  it, 
and  then  wreck  the  brig?  I  hastily  paced  the  deck,  staring  at 
the  whaler  and  thinking  with  all  my  might.  But  a  moment 
arrived  when  T  could  think  no  longer.  I  put  the  helm  over, 
gave  the  wheel  to  Miss  Aurora  to  hold,  and  with  the  help  of 
Jimmy  got  the  main  topsail  aback. 

The  two  vessels  then  lay  abreast  within  a  cable's  length.  A 
man  stood  in  the  mizzen  rigging  of  the  whaler;  he  was  th(; 


J    QUAKER    SKIPPER.  379 

same  person  that  had  hailed  us  in  the  Pacific.      I  jumped  upon 
a  gun  and  sung  out,  "Ho,  the  Virginia  Creeper,  ahoy!" 

"Hallo!"  answered  the  man  near  the  mizzen  rigging. 

"We  are  but  three,  as  you  see,"  I  shouted,  "Will  you  send 
a  boat  and  come  aboard?     Our  distress  is  great." 

The  man  responded  with  a  quiet  motion  of  his  hand,  lin- 
gered a  moment  or  two  as  though  to  take  a  further  survey  of 
us,  then  called  out  an  order,  and  a  few  moments  later  he  had 
entered  a  boat  and  was  being  pulled  across  to  us. 

I  received  him  in  the  gangway,  and  giving  him  my  hand 
said,  "We  have  met  before." 

"Indeed,  friend,"  said  he,  "where  might  that  have  been?" 

On  my  recalling  the  circumstance,  he  said  in  a  sober  voice, 
and  without  any  air  of  surprise,  "I  remember."  Then  looking 
leisurely  at  Miss  Aurora  he  said,  "Is  that  thy  wife,  friend?" 

"No,"  I  answered;   "she  is  a  shipwrecked  lady." 

"And  what  art  thou  and  what's  thy  name?" 

I  made  answer,  observing  him  narrowly.  He  was  a  Quaker, 
as  you  will  suppose;  a  fellow  of  a  very  serious,  composed 
appearance,  close  shaved,  with  coal  black  eyes,  wary  and  steal- 
ing in  their  manner  of  gazing,  a  large  expressionless  mouth, 
and  a  ])ale  skin  that  had  suffered  nothing  from  the  weather. 
He  wore  a  soft  cone-shaped  hat,  the  brim  very  wide,  and  was 
skewered  to  his  throat  in  a  coat  with  a  double  row  of  large 
metal  buttons.  His  legs  were  encased  in  jack  boots.  The 
garb  was  somewhat  of  a  change  from  the  glazed  hat  and  pea 
jacket  of  his  South  Pacific  costume. 

"This  is  the  Black  IVaU/i,"  said  he,  looking  slowly  along 
the  decks  and  then  slowly  up  aloft. 

"Yes,"  said  I. 

"When  we  spoke  thee  thy  captain  was  sick." 

"He  is  dead." 

"Is  that  thy  distress?" 

"No,  sir.  If  you  will  step  into  the  cabin  I'll  tell  you  a  very 
strange  story,  but  as  this  brig  must  be  watched — yonder  lad  at 
the  wheel  being  merely  our  cabin  boy — will  you  hail  one  of 
your  mates  and  request  him  to  take  charge  while  we  con- 
verse?" 

He  walked  gravely  and  quietly  to  the  side,  and  looking 
over,  bade  his  men  in  the  whale  boat  fetch  Mr.  Pack.  Pres- 
ently Mr.  Pack  arrived.  He  was  the  mate  of  the  whaler. 
The  captain  told  him  to  watch  the  brig,  and  followed  me  into 
the  cabin,  the  lady  Aurora  going  before  us. 


o 


80  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 


I  put  a  bottle  of  spirits  upon  the  table.  The  captain  shook 
his  head  at  the  bottle  and  looked  around  him,  presently  fixing 
his  eyes  on  Madam  Aurora,  at  whom  he  continued  to  stare 
after  I  had  begun  to  talk  to  him.  He  had  lifted  a  hat  and  dis- 
closed a  flat,  almost  bald  head.  Without  further  delay  I 
entered  upon  my  narrative,  and  coaxed  his  gaze  from  the  lady 
to  me.  He  heard  me  through  without  a  syllable  of  comment, 
without  a  grunt  of  surprise.  His  composure  was  perfectly 
wooden.  I  observed  no  further  sign,  indeed,  of  his  heeding  me 
than  an  occasional  grave  nod  of  the  head,  such  as  he  might 
bestow  on  a  minister  whose  discourse  from  the  pulpit  pleased 
him. 

I  ceased.  The  dark  Spanish  eyes  of  the  lady  Aurora 
burned,  with  impassioned  anxiety,  upon  the  composed  counte- 
nance of  the  Quaker  skipper. 

"Wilt  thou  be  pleased  to  repeat  the  sum?"  said  the  captain 
slowly  and  deliberately,  without  the  faintest  color  of  wonder  in 
his  tone. 

"Five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand." 

"Of  which  thv  men  took  three  tons?" 

"Yes,"  said  I. 

His  lips  slightly  stirred  to  a  sudden  pressure  of  rapid  calcu- 
lation. "And  what  dost  tliou  think  the  men  will  do  with 
those  three  tons  of  dollars?" 

"Bury  'em,"  said  I.  "They  will  leave  the  island  in  the  boat 
— not  for  awhile,  I  dare  say — but  they  will  not  carry  their 
dollars  with  them.  They'll  not  risk  putting  to  sea  with  three 
tons  of  dead  weight  in  addition  to  the  provisions  they'll  want. 
Or  put  it  that  they  would  not  take  the  chance  of  falling  in  with 
a  ship,  of  transferring  the  money  to  her,  and  of  standing  to 
the  lies  they'd  have  to  tell  to  account  for  their  possession  of 
the  silver." 

"Thou  art  right,"  said  the  captain,  with  a  sober  nod. 

"They  will  bury  the  money,"  said  I,  "swear  one  another  to 
secrecy,  and  then  return  for  the  silver  when  they  can." 

"Thou  art  right,"  repeated  the  captain,  with  another  sober 
nod. 

"Now,"  said  I — "but  let  me  ask  your  name?" 

"Jonas  Horsley, "  he  answered. 

"Captain  Horsley,  this  is  my  proposal:  I  want  help;  I  want 
three  or  four  men  to  enable  me  to  carry  this  brig  home.  I 
also  want  to  hand  my  prisoners  over  to  you — the  three  of  them, 
able-bodied  fellows,  as  good  as  the  best  of  your  own  hands,  I 


A    QUAKER    SKIPPER.  381 

daresay.  Further,  I  want  as  much  fresh  water  as  you  can 
spare.  In  return  I'll  give  you  the  clew  to  the  burial-place  in 
Amsterdam  Island.  If  you  sail  promptly  you'll  arrive  before 
the  fellows  depart.  They're  bound  to  wait  awhile  for  a  ship 
before  taking  their  chance,  six  of  them,  in  an  open  boat,  every 
man  ignorant  which  way  to  head  for  land,  even  if  they  had  a 
compass.  Furthermore,  that  you  may  make  sure  of  my  grati- 
tude, you  shall  take  a  case  of  the  dollars  in  the  lazarette." 

The  senorita's  eyes  sparkled.  She  vehemently  nodded 
approval.  Captain  Horsley  viewed  me  steadily,  with  an 
expressionless  countenance. 

"Friend,"  said  he,  after  a  short  pause,  "might  the  chests  in 
thy  lazarette  be  all  of  a  size?" 

"They  slightly  vary." 

"And  the  biggest  might  contain ?" 

"About  four  thousand  dollars,"  said  I. 

He  continued  to  regard  me  expressionlessly;  his  composure 
raised  my  anxiety  into  torment.  My  lady's  face  worked  with 
half  a  dozen  emotions  at  every  heart-beat. 

"Hast  thou  breakfasted?"  said  Captain  Horsley. 

"No,"  I  answered. 

"Thou  hast  the  means,  I  trust,  of  providing  a  meal?" 

"We  have  plenty  of  provisions." 

"Thou  may'st  consider  all  things  settled,"  said  he,  slowly 
turning  his  head  to  gaze  at  the  lady  Aurora.  "I  will  break 
my  fast  with  thee  and  the  lady.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  converse 
with  you  both.  When  we  have  eaten  and  drunken  I  will  ask 
thee  to  show  me  thy  lazarette,  and  I  will  choose  a  chest,  and 
we  will  then  exchange  the  men." 

"Give  me  your  hand  on  it,"  I  cried,  and  my  heart  was 
swollen  with  delight;  but  the  taking  and  lifting  of  that  man's 
hand  and  arm  was  like  pumping  out  a  ship. 

We  went  on  deck,  and  brought  up  a  sailor  out  of  the  whale- 
boat  to  stand  at  the  helm  while  Jimmy  prepared  breakfast. 
Before  breakfast  was  served  I  took  Captain  Horsley  into  the 
lazarette  and  showed  him  the  cases  of  silver. 

"Do  all  those  chests  contain  dollars?"  he  asked. 

"All." 

He  made  no  further  remark  until,  after  considering  awhile, 
during  which  time  his  eyes  roamed  shrewdly  over  the  chests, 
he  pointed  to  one  of  the  biggest,  and  said: 

"That  will  do  for  me." 

"It  is  yours,"  I  answered. 


382  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN  I 

"Friend,"  said  he,  after  a  short  pause,  due  to  reflection,  by 
no  means  to  embarrassment,  "I  should  be  glad  to  know  that  I 
am  receiving  dollars.     Suppose  we  lift  the  lid." 

I  fetched  a  hammer  and  other  tools,  and  nails,  and  when 
the  chest  was  opened  he  brought  the  lantern  close  to  the 
money,  and  after  staring  and  running  his  hand  over  the  milled 
edges,  he  said: 

"These  be  good  dollars." 

I  then  hammered  down  the  lid  and  we  went  up  into  the 
cabin,  where  we  found  breakfast  r^ndy.  » 

I  much  enjoyed  this  strange  man's  conversation.  He. was 
cold  and  grave,  very  slow,  and  a  trifle  nasal  of  speech,  and  his 
trick  of  "theeing"  and  "thouing,"  and  the  meeting-house  turn 
of  his  phrases  in  general  seemed  to  ill  fit  the  character  of  a 
hearty  English  sailor.  Yet  he  had  plenty  to  talk  about,  had 
followed  the  sea  for  many  years,  had  been  long  in  the  whaling 
business,  was  a  considerable  man  at  Whitby,  and  even  had 
news  to  give  me,  for  I  was  at  sea  in  the  Royal  Brunswicker 
when  he  sailed  on  this  cruise.  A  British  sea  Quaker  was 
something  of  a  rarity  in  my  time;  I  presume  he  is  extmct  in 
these  days.  Many  American  whalers  were  commanded  by 
Quakers,  but  the  board-brims  of  our  island  loved  less  the  pur- 
suit of  the  game  than  the  safer  business  of  tallying  the  blubber 
cargo  over  the  side  into  their  warehouses. 

While  we  breakfasted  I  gave  him  a  description  of  the  pro- 
posed burial-place  as  it  had  been  sketched  to  me  by  Yan  Bol. 
He  composedly  entered  the  particulars  in  a  pocket-book.  I 
asked  him  to  write  down  my  uncle's  address  at  Sandwich,  that 
he  might  let  me  know  whether  he  fell  in  with  or  took  off  Yan 
Bol  and  the  others  and  recovered  the  silver.  He  gravely 
promised  to  write  to  me. 

We  then  went  to  business;  and  Captain  Jonas  Horsley's 
first  step  was  to  accompany  some  men  into  the  lazarette  and 
superintend  the  transhipment  of  his  chest  of  dollars.  This 
done,  he  asked  me  how  many  men  I  wanted.  I  answered  that 
I  had  spoken  of  three,  but  that  I  would  be  glad  of  as  many  as 
he  could  spare.  He  answered  that  he  would  let  me  have  five 
in  exchange  for  my  prisoners.  One  of  them  was  a  Kanaka,  or 
South  Sea  Islander,  who  had  long  sailed  in  whalers,  and  was  a 
very  good  cook.  The  others,  he  said,  would  volunteer;  but  I 
might  make  my  mind  easy.  All  his  men  were  livelies  of  the 
first  water.     What  pay  would  I  give? 

"I  will  give,"  said  I,  "whatever  will  bring  them  to  me." 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  3^3 

"They  sail  by  the  lay.  Thou  must  take  that  into  consider- 
ation," said  Captain  Horsley. 

"Shall  we  say  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  man  for  the 
run  home?"  said  I. 

"I  will  let  thee  know,"  said  he.  He  got  into  his  boat, 
and  was  rowed  across  to  his  ship,  whose  tryworks  were  still 
smoking  and  filling  the  air  with  a  disgusting  scent.  There  was 
no  increase  of  darkness  in  the  south,  and  north  and  east  the 
blue  sky  was  splendid  with  the  sparkhng  of  the  morning;  but  a 
movement  worked  in  the  southerly  swell  that  hinted  at  a  fresh 
wind  presently.  Captain  Horsley,  however,  did  not  keep  me 
long  waiting.  First,  he  sent  me  one  of  his  largest  boats  with 
a  stock  of  fresh  water  and  hands  to  stow  the  casks.  His  men 
took  back  my  empty  casks  in  return  for  their  full  ones;  then 
two  boats  came  off  full  of  men,  in  one  of  which  the  captain 
was  seated.  Parties  were  distributed  to  bring  up  the  prison- 
ers. Meehan  scowled  when  he  saw  the  whaler,  hung  back, 
and  fought  like  a  devil,  saying  that  he  was  a  sailor,  and  no 
whaleman,  and  cursing  me  and  the  brig  and  the  whaler — what- 
ever his  eye  rested  on,  in  short — until  they  tumbled  him  into 
the  boat  alongside,  where  I  heard  him  roaring  out  to  me  to 
pay  him  his  wages  and  to  hand  him  over  his  share  of  the  dol- 
lars. Call  and  Travers  walked  quietly  to  the  gangway. 
Travers  stopped  before  putting  his  foot  over,  and  asked  me  if 
he  was  not  to  be  paid  for  the  work  he  had  done. 

"Mynheer  Tulp  is  your  owner,"  said  I.  "Call  upon  him 
when  you  return  to  Amsterdam.  He'll  pay  you,  I  dare- 
say." 

He  then  began  to  swear,  upon  which  Captain  Horsley 
motioned  to  his  men,  and  he  and  Call  were  forthwith  bundled 
into  the  boat. 

"These  are  thy  men,  friend,"  said  the  captain,  pointing  to 
four  seamen  and  a  Kanaka,  who  stood  apart.  "Four  are 
Englishmen,  and  of  my  own  town,  anxious  to  return  home. 
They  each  ask  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars." 

I  looked  them  over,  as  the  phrase  goes,  put  a  few  questions, 
and,  being  satisfied  that  their  quality  was  right,  I  said: 

"You  shall  have  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  man. 
Captain  Horsley  knows  I  can  pay  you,  and  the  agreement  shall 
be  signed  when  we  have  filled  upon  the  brig." 

The  clothes  and  chests  belonging  to  Meehan  and  tlie  other 
two  were  then  got  up  and  put  into  the  boat.  Captain  Horsley 
gave  me  his  pump-handle  of  an  arm  to  shake — or,  rather,  to 


384  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN! 

work.  I  thanked  him  cordially  for  the  assistance  he  had  ren- 
dered me.     He  listened  till  I  had  done,  and.said: 

"Friend,  thou  hast  made  my  kindness  very  much  worth 
my  while." 

He  entered  his  boat,  after  bowing  with  the  most  grotesque 
contortion  I  had  ever  beheld  to  the  lady  Aurora.  The  brig's 
topsail  was  then  swung;  we  raised  a  loud  cheer,  which  was 
lustily  re-echoed  aboard  the  whaler;  and,  in  a  few  minutes, 
the  Black  Watch  was  heeling  over  from  the  breeze,  with  her 
head  for  a  course  that  was  to  carry  us  home,  and  one  of  my 
new  men  trotting  aloft  to  loose  the  main  topgallant  sail. 

On  this  same  day,  in  the  afternoon,  I,  with  two  of  my  new 
men,  very  carefully  took  stock  of  the  fresh  water  aboard,  and 
I  discovered  that  we  had  enough  to  carry  us  to  the  English 
Channel.  This  discovery  was  a  stroke  of  happiness.  I  had 
allowed  for  a  long  passage,  knew  that  we  were  already  weedy 
at  bottom,  that  every  day  would  add  to  the  growths,  and  that 
before  we  \vere  up  with  the  equator  we  might  be  sliding  very 
thickly  and  sluggishly  through  the  sea.  Spite,  however,  of  my 
computation  of  long  days,  there  was  fresh  water  enough  to 
yield  us  such  an  allowance  as  no  man  could  grumble  at. 

The  men  shipped  from  the  whaler  proved  very  good  sea- 
men; all  four  Englishmen  were  Whitby  men;  they  were  held 
together  by  that  quality  of  local  patriotism  which  I  think  is 
peculiar  to  our  country;  they  were  all  anxious  to  get  home, 
and  owned  that  they  had  intended  to  run  from  the  Virginia 
Creeper  at  the  first  opportunity.  The  prospect  of  taking  up 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  man  kept  them  very  willing, 
alert,  and  in  good  spirits.  One  of  them,  a  man  of  about  forty, 
with  iron-gray  hair,  who  boasted  that  Captain  Cook  had  once 
asked  him  the  time — when  and  where  I  forget — this  man  came 
to  me  on  the  Sunday  after  he  and  the  others  had  joined  my 
brig,  and  asked  me  to  lend  him  a  Bible.  I  lent  him  a  Bible 
that  had  belonged  to  Captain  Greaves,  and  Jimmy  afterward 
told  me  that  of  a  dog-watch  this  man  would  sit  and  read  out  of 
the  Bible  to  his  mates,  the  Kanaka  listening  very  attentively 
and  occasionally  interrupting  by  a  question. 

All  this  was  as  it  should  be;  I  had  been  living  and  moving 
for  weeks  in  intellectual  irons,  so  to  speak;  as  much  in  irons 
as  the  figure  that  had  fallen  from  the  gibbet;  I  had  gone  in 
fear  of  my  life — could  never  imagine  what  was  in  store  for  me 
should  I  be   forced  to  New  Holland  with  the  brig;  had  for 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  385 

weeks  and  weeks  despaired  of  my  little  fortune  on  which  I  had 
counted  in  Greaves'  time,  upon  which  I  had  built  such  fan- 
cies of  happiness  as  would  visit  the  heart  of  a  young  sailor. 
Noiv  I  breathed  freely,  slept  without  anxiety,  paced  the  deck 
and  realized  that  every  fathom  of  white  wake  was  diminishing 
the  vast  interval  between  home  and  the  situation  of  the  little 
vessel.  I  had  no  other  fears  than  such  as  properly  fell  under 
the  heads  of  sea  risks.  These  I  must  take  my  chance  of — fire, 
the  lee-shore,  the  sudden  hurricane,  privateersmen,  the  Yan- 
kee cruiser;  but  the  direst  of  the  items  of  the  catalogue  of 
oceanic  perils  were  as  naught  to  my  apprehension  after  what 
I  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  Yan  Bol  and  his  men. 

We  rounded  the  Cape;  we  crept  north;  we  hoisted  the 
Dutch  flag  to  passing  ships;  the  stars  of  the  south  sank;  our 
shadows  every  day  grew  shorter  and  yet  shorter  at  noon,  and 
all  went  well.  Having  but  six  men  of  a  crew  I  worked,  on 
occasion,  as  hard  as  any  of  them;  often  sprang  aloft  to  a 
weather  earring,  helped  to  stow  a  course  and  stood  a  trick  if 
the  fellows  had  been  much  fagged  by  the  weather.  Never- 
theless, though  I  was  very  often  full  of  business  and  hurry,  I 
found  plenty  of  leisure  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  the 
lady  Aurora.  This  was  peculiarly  so  in  the  fine  weather  of 
the  southeast  trades,  in  the  calms  of  the  equatorial  zone,  in  the 
steady  blowing  of  the  northeast  wind.  She  persevered  in  her 
English,  and  many  a  lesson  did  I  give  her;  she  recited  to  me, 
for  I  now  understood  the  Spanish  tongue  fairly  well.  But 
though  she  recited  with  great  power  she  could  not  declaim  as 
she  sang.  I  always  thought  her  singing  beautiful  and  enchant- 
ing. The  fiddle  to  which  the  original  crew  had  been  used  to 
dance  and  sing,  Jimmy  found  in  a  hammock;  he  brought  it  aft, 
and  to  the  twang  of  it  the  seiiorita  would  again  and  again  lift 
up  her  voice,  her  large,  rich,  thrilling  voice,  to  please  me. 

One  day  we  sat  together  in  the  cabin.  We  were  a  little 
northward  of  the  Island  of  Madeira.  The  weather  was  very 
mild  and  fine,  the  time  of  year  the  beginning  of  August.  I 
had  been  reading  aloud  to  the  girl  out  of  "The  Castle  of 
Otranto,"  and  she  had  followed  me  very  closely,  interrupting 
seldom  to  inquire  the  meaning  of  a  word.  When  1  had  done 
she  exclaimed: 

"I  will  now  give  you  a  brave  recital.  You  shall  enjoy  it. 
I  have  seen  you  wear  a  red  silk  kerchief;  lend  it  to  me." 

I  fetched  the  kerchief  and  she  bound  it  round  her  head, 
then  lifting  a  locker  she  drew  out  a  tablecloth,  in  which  she 


386  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

wrapped  her  figure  as  in  a  sheet,  holding  the  folds  with  het 
left  hand  and  leaving  her  right  hand  free  to  gesticulate  with. 
She  then  declaimed  a  set  of  verses,  written  in  the  jargon  of  the 
Spanish  gypsies  by  that  famous  poet  of  Spain,  Quevedo.  It 
was  a  very  fine  performance.  I  understood  but  little  of  the 
queer  dialect,  but  I  enjoyed  the  rich  music  of  her  voice,  the 
swelling  and  melting  melodies  her  mere  utterance  gave  to  the 
verses;  I  gazed  with  delight  at  her  impassioned  eyes,  and  at 
the  wild,  romantic  figure  she  made,  draped  as  she  was  in  a  sail- 
or's kerchief  and  a  cabin  tablecloth.  Was  it  not  Nelson's 
Emma  who,  with  a  scarf  only,  contrived  a  dozen  different 
representations  of  characters,  was  fascinating  in  all,  and  so 
pathetic  in  some  that  her  audience  wept? 

"How  do  you  like  me  as  a  Spanish  gypsy?"  said  she,  pull- 
ing off  the  kerchief,  dropping  the  tablecloth,  and  shaking  her 
head  till  her  long  earrings  flashed  again. 

"So  well  that  I  want  more,"  I  answered. 

"No,"  said  she;   "come  on  deck." 

She  put  on  her  hat,  I  carried  a  chair,  and  we  seated  our- 
selves in  the  shade  of  the  little  awning  under  which  we  had 
often  sat  and  gesticulated,  and  endeavored  to  look  our  mean- 
ings in  Greaves'  time.  But  now  she  spoke  English  very 
well  indeed,  while  I  had  enough  Spanish  to  enable  me  to  con- 
verse with  her  in  that  tongue,  though  I  never  could  catch  the 
sonorous  note  of  it,  nor  give  the  true  twist  to  some  of  the 
words. 

We  sat  together.  The  brig  was  sailing  placidly  over  a  v/ide 
surface  of  blue  sea;  the  horizon  was  a  bright  line  of  opal 
against  the  dim  violet  of  the  distant  sky,  and  abreast  of  us  to 
larboard  was  a  full-rigged  ship,  her  hull  below  the  sea  line, 
and  her  canvas  showing  like  little  puffs  of  steam.  The  Kanaka 
was  at  tlie  wheel;  he  was  cook  indeed,  but  when  he  Avas  done 
with  the  caboose  I  put  him  to  the  ship's  work.  One  of  the 
sailors  who  had  charge  walked  in  the  waist;  the  other  three 
were  variously  engaged. 

I  found  myself  gazing  very  earnestly  at  the  lady  Aurora, 
and  thinking  of  her  and  of  nothing  but  her,  I  was  still  under 
the  influence  of  the  witchery  of  her  recitation,  and  then  again 
I  thought  I  had  never  seen  her  lopk  so  handsome.  Am  I  in 
love  with  you?  I  wondered.  Thought  is  as  swift  as  dreams, 
and  you  may  dream  in  your  sleep  through  a  thousand  years 
in  the  time  of  the  fall  of  an  ash  from  the  grate  to  the  hearth. 
"Am  I  in  love  with  you?"   I  said  to  myself,  earnestly  regard- 


A    QUAKER    SKIPPER.  3 8 7. 

ing  her,  her  eyes  being  then  fixed  upon  the  distant  sail.  "I 
have  a  very  great  mind  to  offer  you  marriage.  What  will  you 
say  if  I  propose  to  you?  Will  your  eyes  flash,  and  will  you 
show  your  teeth,  or  will  you  put  on  one  of  your  tender,  brood- 
ing looks?  I  have  often  thought  that  you  would  make  as  fine, 
useful,  accomplished  a  wife  as  any  young  fellow  need  wish  to 
live  gayly  and  comfortably  with.  You  sing  deliciously.  I 
don't  doubt  you  dance  perfectly  well.  You  can  be  saucy  and 
quarrelsome  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lend  a  new  flavor  to  senti- 
ment. You  have  a  stately,  handsome  person;  you  are 
extremely  well-bred,  I  am  sure.  I  must  take  my  chance  of 
your  relatives.  Some  of  them  may  be  grandees — let  that  be 
hoped  for  the  sake  of  my  children,  who,  if  they  take  after  me, 
will  wish  to  be  respectably  connected.  I'll  offer  you  mar- 
riage," I  thought  to  myself. 

"Our  troubles  are  nearly  at  an  end,"  said  I. 

"It  is  time,"  she  answered,  keeping  her  eyes  fastened  upon 
the  distant  ship. 

"We  have  been  very  closely  associated,  senorita." 

She  now  regarded  me,  and  for  an  instant  there  was  a  pecu- 
liar softness  in  her  gaze;  she  then  seemed  to  find  an  expression 
in  my  face  that  alarmed  her;  I  saw  the  change;  she  grew 
nervous,  and  her  effort  to  control  herself  confused  her. 

"Yes,  we  have  been  much  together,  Mr.  Fielding.  I  shall 
always  regard  you  as  the  savior  of  my  life,  and  never  shall  I 
forget  your  gentle  .and  courteous  treatment  of  me." 

"I  trust  you  never  will.  My  desire  is  to  live  forever  in 
your  memory." 

She  looked  troubled  and  frightened,  and  then  sorry,  as 
though  she  had  pained  me. 

"You  have  said  you  will  give  up  the  sea  when  you  arrive  in 
England?" 

"Oh,  yes;  I  shall  have  been  three  years  continuously  at  sea 
when  I  reach  home.  I'll  take  a  home  and  settle  down 
ashore." 

"Is  your  fortune  in  the  Spanish  dollars  all  that  you  possess?" 

"All.  It  is  seven  thousand  pounds."  I  pronounced  these 
figures  with  emphasis. 

"It  is  not  much,"  she  exclaimed. 

"Indeed!     I  think  it  a  very  good  fortune." 

"For  a  single  man — si ;  but  put  it  out  at  interest,  and  what 
you  receive  shall  not  be  handsome.  Oh,  it  is  a  fortune  for 
a  bachelor — yes,  but    in  no  country,  not  even  in  Germany 


388  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

would  it  be  regarded  as  a  handsome  fortune  for  one  who 
would  live  in  style.  Vaya!  Have  I  not  advised  you  to  buy  a 
ship  and  trade  with  distant  nations,  and  end  your  days  as 
rich  as  a  prince  of  the  blood  royal  of  England?" 

"I  do  not  intend  to  take  your  advice,"  said  I.  "I  will  not 
risk  my  money  in  adventures.  What  I  have  I  will  keep.  It 
is  a  considerable  sum — it  is  enough  for  two." 

She  slightly  shrugged  her  shoulders  again,  and  turned  her 
eyes  away  with  an  expression  of  concern.  Suddenly  she  looked 
fully  at  me;  her  face  was  dark  with  a  blush  that  glowed  from 
the  roots  of  her  hair  to  the  rim  of  the  collar  of  her  dress;  I 
could  not  express  the  meaning  in  her  face  at  that  moment;  I 
felt  it  without  understanding  it. 

"When  I  am  settled  in  Madrid,  Mr.  Fielding,  you  will  come 
and  see  me,  I  hope  ?  Often,  I  trust,  will  you  visit  me?  Who 
more  welcome,  of  all  the  friends  of  Aurora  de  la  Cueva,  than 
Senor  William  Fielding?" 

I  thanked  her,  with  slight  surprise.  I  had  expected,  from 
the  looks  of  her,  something  very  different  from  this. 

"Would  it  not  please  you  to  live  in  England?"  said  I. 

"No,"  she  answered  vehemently;  softening,  she  added, 
"my  establishment  will  be  in  Madrid." 

I  was  conscious  that  I  changed  color.  I  looked  at  her  hand 
— at  that  pretty  hand  of  beringed  fingers,  on  which  very  often 
had  I  admiringly  fastened  my  gaze.  When  I  lifted  my  eyes, 
she  faintly  smiled. 

"Your  establishment  ?"  said  I. 

"Yes;  my  establishment." 

"Do  you  mean  your  mother's  establishment?" 

''Ave  Maria!  No.  My  poor  mother!  Where  is  she? 
Ay,  ay  me !*'  she  <-.ried,  looking  up  at  the  sky  with  a  sorrow- 
ful, admirably  managed  roll  of  her  dark  eyes.  "My  mother's 
establishment  was  at  Lima,  as  you  have  often  heard.  She 
broke  it  up  on  the  death  of  my  father;  and,  if  she  be  alive — 
oh,  may  the  Blessed  Virgin  grant  it — she  will  live  with  me  at 
Madrid.  It  was  her  intention  to  dwell  with  us.  She  is  grow- 
ing in  years  and  has  many  infirmities,  and  is  unequal  to  the 
fatigues  and  anxieties  of  an  establishment  of  her  own.  But  of 
whom  am  I  speaking?     She  may  be  dead — she  may  be  dead!" 

"Pray,"  said  I,  "have  I  been  all  this  while  enjoying  the 
society  of  a  charming  woman  without  guessing  that  she  was 
married?"  and  here  my  eyes  sought  the  rings  upon  her  left 
hand  again. 


A    QUAKER   SKIPPER.  3^9 

"I  am  not  married,"  she  answered. 

"Maybe,  then,  you  are  engaged  to  be  married?"  said  I. 

She  made  me  a  low  bow,  and  held  her  head  down  till  a 
second  deep  blush  should  have  passed. 

"I  make  you  my  compliments,  sefiorita,"  said  I,  turning  in 
my  chair  to  look  at  the  ship  that,  by  heading  on  a  more  west- 
erly course  than  ourselves,  was  sinking  her  canvas. 

"It  v/iil  interest  you  to  know,"  said  she,  "that  I  am 
engaged  to  be  married  to  a  countryman  of  yours.  Do  you 
wonder  why  I  did  not  long  ago  tell  you  this?  I  did  not 
imagine  that  it  would  interest  you.  When  I  embarked  at 
Acapulco  I  was  proceeding  to  Madrid  to  get  married.  I  had 
known  Mr.  Gerald  Maxwell  only  three  months — think!  when 
we  were  afifianced.     Do  you  ask  if  he  is  a  Catolique?" 

"I  ask  nothing,"  I  answered. 

"Oh!"  she  cried,  giving  me  a  look  made  up  of  pity  and 
reproach — a  deuced  insufferable  look,  I  thought  it — "he  is  a 
true  Catolique.  All  his  family  for  ages  have  ever  been  of  de 
ortodox  faith.  His  father  established  a  rich  business  at  Lima, 
and  his  son  came  from  his  education  in  England  to  be  a  part- 
ner. He  went  to  Madrid  last  year  to  represent  his  house  in 
Spain.  We  should  have  been  married,  but  my  mother's  grief 
would  not  allow  us  to  rejoice;  so  he  sailed  for  Europe,  and  it 
was  agreed  that,  when  my  mother  had  settled  her  affairs,  she 
should  follow  with  me.  Santa  Maria  purissima !  He  will 
think  I  have  perished." 

All  this  is,  in  effect,  what  she  said;  but  her  speech,  of 
course,  did  not  flow  so  easily  as  you  read  it. 

"Did  your  friend,  Mr.  Gerald  Maxwell,  during  his  three 
months'  courtship,  teach  you  English?" 

"No;  he  was  too  busy." 

"In  those  months  he  was  too  busy  to  teach  you  a  word  of 
English?" 

^'Ave  Maria!  Do  not  speak  angrily,  nor  lose  your  temper. 
Mr.  Maxwell  was  often  absent  for  days.  He  had  no  oppor- 
tunity to  teach  me  English." 

"That,  happily,"  said  I,  bursting  into  a  laugh,  "was  to  be 
reserved  for  me." 

"Oh,  Senor  Fielding,  you  have  been  so  good,"  she  cried  in 
Spanish;  and  then  she  laughed  loudly  also. 

"'Tis  what  a  famous  poet  of  my  country,"  said  I,  "has 
termed  a  most  lame  and  impotent  conclusion,  I  am  pleased 
to  have  taught  you  English." 


390  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

"It  has  killed  the  time." 

"Mr.  Maxwell  will  be  surprised  by  your  knowledge." 

"Seilor  Fielding,  he  shall  thank  you." 

I  grinned,  walked  to  the  side  with  the  telescope,  and 
feigned  to  be  interested  with  the  distant  sail.  Narrow,  indeed, 
had  been  my  escape!  I  drew  more  than  one  deep  breath  as  I 
humbugged  with  the  glass.  By  her  deep  blush  might  I  sup- 
pose she  had  foreseen  what  was  coming  and  arrested  it — just 
in  time!  I  felt  obliged  to  her.  But,  oh,  the  meanness  of  so 
prolonged  an  act  of  secrecy!  Oh,  the  treachery  of  it!  I 
thought,  when  I  reflected  on  what  had  passed  between  us. 
What  had  been  her  motive  for  not  long  ago  telling  me  that  she 
had  a  sweetheart,  and  was  going  to  Madrid  to  be  married  to 
him?  To  make  me  fall  in  love  with  her,  and  to  keep  mem 
love  with  her,  so  as  to  assure  herself  of  my  constant  courtesy 
and  attention,  fearing  that  I  would  be  neither  courteous  nor 
attentive  if  she  told  me  she  was  engaged  to  be  married? 

However,  I  found  out  that  night  when  I  paced  the  deck 
alone,  pipe  in  mouth,  that  I  had  mistaken — that,  in  short.  I 
was  not  in  love  with  her.  This  was  proved  to  my  satisfaction 
by  my  quarter-deck  meditations  on  the  subject.  First,  she 
was  a  Catholic;  would  she  have  married  me,  who  was  a  Prot- 
estant? No.  Would  I  have  surrendered  my  faith  for  her 
hand  ?  Not  if  that  hand  had  grasped  and  proffered  me  the 
title-deeds  of  every  gold  mine  in  this  world.  She  sung,  it  is 
true,  in  a  very  heavenly  style,  but  was  she  not  a  devil  at  heart? 
Did  not  she  offer  to  stick  Yan  Bol  and  the  others  in  the  back? 
Did  not  she  secrete  a  very  ugly,  murderous  weapon  about  her 
fine  person?  Not  for  the  first  time  did  it  occur  to  me  now  that 
she  was  a  very  likely  lady  to  poniard  her  husband.  One  little 
fit  of  jealousy,  and  the  rest  would  briefly  work  out  as  a  funeral, 
a  handsome  young  mourning  widow,  very  regular  indeed  at 
confession,  visited  once  a  week  by  a  man  in  a  cloak,  who 
presently  so  raises  the  price  of  secrecy  that  by  and  by  she'll 
bave  to  do  for  him,  too. 

Another  reflection  consoled  me;  in  a  few  years  a  very  great 
change  must  happen  in  the  lady  Aurora's  appearance.  The 
Spanish  woman  is  like  the  Jewess;  she  does  not  improve  by 
keeping.  The  delicate  olive  complexion  turns  into  a  disa- 
greeable wrinkled  yellow;  the  pretty  shading  of  down  on  the 
upper  lip  thickens  into  a  mustache  considerable  enough  to 
raise  the  jealousy  of  a  captain  of  dragoons ;  the  lofty  and 
elegant  carriage  decays  into  a  tipsy  waddle;  the  light  of  the 


MYNHEER    TULP.  39 ^ 

eye  is  speedily  quenched;  the  white  teeth  show  like  the  keys 
of  a  pianoforte;  the  rich  singing  voice  may  linger,  but  it  will 
irritate  the  ear  of  the  husband  by  its  association  with  noisy 
quarrels. 

These,  I  say,  were  reflections  which  vastly  supported  my 
spirits  and  taught  me  to  understand  myself;  they  proved  that 
my  love  for  the  lady  went  no  deeper  than  an  eyelash  of  hers 
measured,  and  before  my  pipe  was  out  I  was  heartily  congrat- 
ulating myself  on  Mr.  Gerald  Maxwell  having  come  first. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

MYNHEER    TULP. 

I  BROUGHT  the  brig  to  an  anchor  in  the  Small  Downs  off 
Sandown  Castle  toward  the  close  of  the  month  of  August, 
1815.  The  weather  in  the  Channel  had  been  thick;  I  had 
shipped  a  couple  of  fishermen  off  Plymouth  to  assist  in  the 
navigation  of  the  brig,  and  from  abreast  of  that  port  I  had 
groped  the  whole  distance  to  the  Downs  with  the  hand- 
lead. 

It  was  thick  weather  when  I  arrived  off  Deal;  the  breeze 
was  a  "soldier's  wind"  for  the  Channel;  I  counted  five  vessels 
only,  and  no  man-of-war  was  in  sight  when  I  brought  up. 
The  Dutch  flag  flew  at  our  trysail  gaff-end,  and  our  decks 
were  bare  of  artillery  from  stem  to  stern;  for  on  entering  the 
Channel  I  had  caused  all  the  guns  to  be  struck  into  the  hold 
that  the  little  ship,  should  we  be  boarded,  might  present  the 
appearance  of  a  peaceful  trader. 

On  letting  go  the  anchor  I  sent  two  letters  ashore  by  a  Deal 
boat;  one  was  for  my  uncle  Captain  Round,  who  I  had  learnt 
from  the  boatmen  was  well  and  hearty;  the  other  was  in  the 
handwriting  of  the  Senorita  Aurora,  and  addressed  to  Mr. 
Gerald  Maxwell  at  Madrid.  It  was  soon  after  nine  in  the  morn- 
ing when  we  brought  up;  and  while  the  church  clocks  of  Deal 
were  striking  eleven  my  uncle  came  alongside.  He  was  alone; 
I  had  asked  him  in  a  mysteriously  phrased  passage  of  my  letter 
to  come  alone;  the  fellow  that  rowed  him  alongside  was  the 
decayed  waterman  who  had  opened  the  door  to  me  that  night 
when  I  visited  my  uncle  after  leaving  the  Royal  Brtmswicker. 

My  uncle  held  me  by  both  hands  for  at  least  five  minutes. 
The  whole  expression  of  his  face  was  a  very  gape  of  astonish- 
ment.    He  looked  me  all  over,  he  looked  the  brig  all  over;  he 


392  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

panted  for  words;  when  he  was  able  to  articulate  he  said, 
"Bill,  I  thought  you  was  drowned?" 

"You  got  my  letter?" 

"Yes,  and  came  off  at  once." 

"I  sent  you  a  letter  written  at  sea  weeks  and  weeks  ago." 

"This  is' the  only  letter  I  have  received  from  you,"  said  he; 
and,  trembling  with  agitation  and  excitement,  he  pulled  out 
the  letter  that  I  had  sent  ashore  that  morning. 

The  sailors  were  watching  us,  and  my  uncle,  now  that  he 
had  his  voice,  shouted;  so,  taking  the  dear  old  fellow  by  the 
arm,  I  carried  him  into  the  cabin,  where  sat  the  lady  Aurora 
occupied  in  furbishing  up  her  hat  to  fit  her  for  going  ashore. 
My  uncle  started  and  stared  at  her.  He  looked  plump  and 
and  well  kept,  with  his  bottle-green  coat,  broad  brimmed,  low 
crowned  hat,  and  boots  like  a  postillion's  of  that  time.  His 
face  was  jolly  and  rosy,  despite  the  blueness  of  his  lips;  he 
S2emed,  indeed,  more  weather-stained  and  sea-going  than  I,  as 
though  it  was  the  uncle  and  not  the  nephew  who  was  just 
returned  from  three  years  of  the  ocean.  He  stared  at  the  lady 
Aurora,  and  whipped  his  hat  off  and  bent  his  back  in  a  bow 
quick  with  nerve.     The  lady  rose  and  courtesyed. 

"Your  wife.  Bill?"  said  he. 

"No,  a  shipwrecked  lady.  We  took  her  off  a  rock  in  the 
South  Pacific." 

"Off  a  rock!     Lord  love  you  all!     What's  next  to  come?" 

"Often  have  I  heard  Senor  Fielding  speak  of  you,  Captain 
Round,"  said  Miss  Aurora. 

"Yes,  I  will  believe  that  of  Bill  ma'am." 

"I  am  shipwrecked,  indeed,"  she  exclaimed  with  a  fine  arch 
smile  and  flashing  look  that  carried  me  deep  into  the  heart  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Southern  Oceans  ere  Gerald  Maxwell  was,  or 
when,  if  he  had  been  aboard,  he'd  have  seen  us  sitting  very 
close  side  by  side  over  a  lesson  in  English;  "judge  by  my 
gown."     She  swept  it  at  the  knees.      "I  am  not  fit  to  be  seen." 

"But  ye  are  then,  believe  me,"  said  my  uncle;  and  he  sidled 
up  to  me  and,  rubbing  my  arm  with  his  elbow,  muttered, 
"handsomest  woman  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  Bill;  if  she  aint 
the  Queen  of  Spain." 

"Senorita, "  said  I,  addressing  her  in  Spanish,  "my  uncle 
and  I  will  talk  at  this  table;  let  us  not  disturb  you.  You  and 
I  have  no  secrets — now." 

She  smiled  and  looked  grave  all  in  a  moment,  slightly  bowed 
and  resumed  her  seat  and  her  work.     And,  indeed,  I  minded 


MYNHEER    TULP.  393 

not  her  presence.  Much  that  I  should  presently  say,  much 
that  would  presently  be  spoken  by  my  uncle,  must  be  as  unin- 
telligible to  her  as  Welsh  or  Erse. 

We  seated  ourselves,  and  I  took  my  uncle  by  the  hand  and 
blessed  God  for  the  privilege  of  beholding  him  again.  I 
inquired  after  my  aunt;  she  was  well;  after  my  cousin;  hale 
and  hearty;  married  three  months  since,  lived  in  a  small  house 
at  Folkstone,  whence  her  young  husband  traded  in  a  ship  of 
which  he  was  part  owner.  I  asked  after  Captain  Spalding. 
The  Royal  Bruns-ii'icker  had  passed  through  the  Downs  in  the 
previous  December;  my  uncle  had  heard  nothing  of  her  since; 
he  had  written  to  Spalding  that  I  was  drowned  after  having 
been  pressed,  and  while  being  conveyed  aboard  a  frigate  off 
Deal.  He  had  claimed  my  wages  and  clothes  as  next  of  kin, 
and  Spalding  had  sent  him  what  was  due  to  me  and  what 
remained  of  my  togs.  I  asked  how  many  men  of  the  frigate's 
boat  had  perished;  he  replied  only  one  man  was  picked  up, 
one  of  the  pressed  men,  an  Irishman. 

"That  was  the  fellow,"  said  I,  "whose  behavior  led  to  the 
disaster." 

I  had  many  more  questions  to  ask,  the  tediousness  of  which 
I  will  not  bestow  upon  you.  I  then  entered  upon  the  story  of 
my  own  adventures  from  the  hour  of  my  leaving  his  house  on 
that  black  night  of  storm  and  thunder.  He  stopped  me  after 
I  had  related  my  gibbet  experience  to  tell  me  that  a  tall 
woman,  dressed  as  a  widow,  was  found  about  forty  yards  dis- 
tant from  the  gibbet,  dead,  with  her  arms  round  the  ironed 
body  of  the  felon.  Miss  Aurora  looked  up  at  this;  she  had 
heard  me  tell  that  story  of  the  gibbet  and  the  lightning  stroke 
and  the  mother.  She  looked  up,  I  say,  muttered,  and  crossed 
herself,  then  went  on  with  her  work.  I  paused  to  think  a  little 
upon  the  dead  mother,  then  proceeded  steadily  with  my  story; 
when  I  came  to  Greaves'  narrative  of  the  discovery  of  the 
dollar-ship  my  uncle's  eyes  grew  small  in  his  head  with  the 
intentness  of  his  gaze. 

He  seldom  winked;  he  breathed  small  and  faint  until  I 
described  the  discovery  of  the  dollars  and  their  transhipment, 
on  which  he  fetched  a  deep  breath  and  hit  the  table  a  sound- 
ing blow  with  his  fist.  Manifold  were  the  changes  of  his 
countenance  as  I  progressed;  he  lived  in  every  scene  I  drew; 
cursed  Yan  Bol  and  his  crew  in  the  language  of  Beach  Street ; 
started  out  of  his  chair  to  grasp  the  lady  Aurora  by  the  hand 
on  my  relating  her  share  in  the  recovery  of  the  brig.     And 


394  LIST.    YE  LANDSMEN! 

then  he  became  a  strict  man  of  business,  his  jolly  face  harden- 
ing to  the  rise  and  pressure  of  his  old  smuggling  instincts  when 
I  spoke  of  the  chests  of  dollars  in  the  lazarette  and  asked  him 
to  advise  me  how,  when,  and  where  to  secretly  convey  them 
ashore. 

"Let's  have  a  look  at  'em,  Bill,"  said  he.  •  The  excitement 
was  gone  out  of  him ;  he  was  as  cool  as  ever  he  had  been  in 
the  most  artful  and  desperate  of  his  midnight  jobs.  I  took 
him  into  the  lazarette  and  between  us  we  handled  a  chest  of 
about  three  thousand  dollars  to  test  its  weight.  He  then  said 
— as  quietly  as  though  his  talk  was  of  empty  casks  and  "dead 
marines" — "The  money  must  be  got  ashore  to-night.  It 
mustn't  remain  aboard  after  to-night." 

"How  shall  I  go  to  work?" 

"Leave  that  to  me." 

"Who'll  receive  the  cases,  uncle?" 

"I  will.  Bill." 

"Sketch  me  your  idea  that  I  may  see  my  way." 

"I'll  go  ashore  now,"  said  he,  "and  make  all  necessary 
arrangements.  Keep  aboard  yourself  and  don't  let  any  of  your 
people  leave  the  brig.  Tell  them  we'll  pay  'em  off  at  my 
house  to-morrow.  Destroy  all  your  papers — see  to  that,  Bill. 
The  moon's  old  and  nigh  wore  out — it'll  be  a  dark  night,  rain- 
ing and  squally,  I  hope.  You'll  have  a  lugger  alongside  of 
you  when  it  comes  dark.  She'll  hail  you.  Her  name'll  be 
'*he  Seamen  s  Friend,  the  name  of  the  man  that  hails  you,  Jarvie 
Files.  Trust  him  up  to  the  hilt,  Bill,  and  leave  him  to  dis- 
charge ye.  He  knows  the  ropes.  Afore  midnight  them 
chests,  to  the  bottom  dollar,  '11  be  in  my  cellars." 

"When  do  I  come  ashore?" 

"To-morrow.  Quite  coolly,  Bill.  Come  along  with  your 
men  and  bring  'em  to  my  house,  where  the  money  in  English 
gold  for  paying  'em  off  '11  be  ready." 

"And  what's  to  become  of  this  brig?" 

"How  many  anchors  do  ye  hold  by?" 

"t)ne,  uncle." 

"Moor  her,  Bill.  You've  got  a  snug  berth.  She'll  want  a 
caretaker  till  that  there  Mynheer  Tulp  arrives  and  settles  up. 
She's  his  property.  And  the  sooner  Tulp  arrives  the  better 
for  all  parties." 

He  was  about  to  make  his  way  out  of  the  lazarette. 

"There  is  the  Spanish  lady,"  said  I.  "Will  you  take  her 
ashore  and  find  her  a  home  in  vour  house  until  she's  fetched? 


MYNHEER    TULP.  395 

I'd  sooner  see  her  with  you  thai>  at  an  inn.  She  has  a  tongue. 
Gratitude  will  keep  her  quiet,  I  hope,  but  she  might  talk." 

"If  you're  afraid  of  her,  aren't  ye  afraid  of  the  men?" 

"No.  The  men  haven't  any  settled  notions  on  the  subject 
of  the  silver  cargo.  They  want  to  get  home,  and  up  at  Whitby 
they  may  talk  if  they  please.  The  lad  Jimmy  will  hold  his 
jaw.  I've  promised  to  take  him  into  my  service.  He's  a 
good  lad." 

Without  further  speech  my  uncle  got  out  of  the  lazarette, 
and  after  waiting  to  see  me  put  the  hatch  on  and  secure  it,  he 
stepped  up  to  the  lady  Aurora,  and  in  his  homely  manner, 
that  nevertheless  borrowed  a  sort  of  grace  from  the  warmth  of 
his  heart,  he  begged  her  to  make  use  of  his  house  until  she 
heard  from  her  friends.  She  thanked  him,  gazed  at  me  with 
a  short-lived  look  of  confusion,  and  said: 

"Until  I  hear  from  Mr.  Maxwell,  until  I  receive  comunica- 
tions  from  Madrid,  I  am  very  poor.  I  wish  not  to  part  with 
these  rings,"  said  she,  looking  down  upon  her  hands;  "I  wish 
not  to  remove  them;  and  my  earrings,"  continued  she,  with  a 
shake  of  her  head,  "would  not  bring  me  nearly  money  enough 
to  buy  me  what  I  want." 

"Leave  that  to  me,  ma'am,"  said  my  uncle;  "name  your 
figure  when  we  get  ashore.     There's  no  luggage,  I  suppose?" 

"Nothing  that  I  care  to  take,"  she  answered.  "Captain 
Round,  I  will  ask  you  to  land  me  in  some  secret  place,  as  if  I 
was  contraband,  and  show  me  how  to  reach  your  house  by  tile 
back  ways.  I  do  not  love  to  be  stared  at,  and  many  mocking 
eyes  will  rest  upon  me  if  I  appear  in  this  costume  in  your  pub- 
lic streets." 

"You  shan't  meet  a  soul,"  answered  my  uncle,  "if  it  isn't 
a  boatman  too  bleared  with  ale  to  observe  more  than  that 
you're  a  woman." 

She  put  on  her  hat  and  jacket,  theh  stood  a  moment  looking 
a  slow  farewell  round  her;  her  eyes  met  mine,  and  she  turned 
a  shade  pale,  as  though  to  an  emotion  to  which  she  could  not 
or  would  not  give  expression. 

"I'll  not  say  good-by,  Seilor  Fielding,"  said  she,  giving  me 
her  hand. 

"No;  we  shall  meet  again  to-morrow,  I  hope." 

The  three  of  us  went  on  deck.  My  uncle  called  his  boat 
alongside;  Miss  Aurora  and  he  entered  her,  and  they  shoved 
off.  I  leaned  upon  the  rail,  watching  them  as  they  rowed 
ashore.     The  boat  made  for  the  beach,  a  little  to  the  north- 


396  LIST,     YE   LANDSMEN ! 

ward  of  Sandown  Castle.  There  was  no  play  or  surf  to  render 
the  landing  inconvenient.  My  uncle  helped  the  girl  out  of  the 
boat,  and  they  walked  off  across  the  sand  hills — those  same 
sand  hills  which  had  provided  me  with  my  horrible  experience 
of  the  gibbet. 

But  the  gibbet  was  gone;  the  summer  sun  was  shining  upon 
the  grassy  billows  of  sand.  Afar,  on  the  confines  of  that  hilly 
waste,  were  many  trees,  with  a  single  church  steeple  among 
them — the  shore  sign  of  the  old  town  of  Sandwich.  Over  the 
bows  ran  the  white,  low  terraces  of  the  Ramsgate  cliffs,  soaring 
as  they  rounded  out  of  the  bay,  and  gathering  a  milkier  soft- 
ness as  they  rose.  Abreast  was  the  yellow  line  of  the  Good- 
wins, and  yonder  on  the  quarter  stretched  Deal  Beach,  rich 
with  the  various  colors  of  many  boats  hauled  high  and  dry. 
A  row  of  seaward-facing  houses  flanked  that  beach ;  I  could 
see  the  corner  of  the  alley  where  I  was  gripped  by  the 
press-gang,  and  memories  of  after-days  swarmed  into  my 
head. 

But  there  was  work  to  be  done;  I  broke  away  from  my  idle 
musings,  and  ordered  the  men  to  moor  ship  in  obedience 
to  my  uncle's  instructions.  Cable  was  veered  out,  and  a 
second  anchor  let  go.  I  had  found  a  bag  of  thirty-two  guineas 
and  some  silver  in  Greaves'  cabin  after  my  poor  friend's 
death.  I  used  this  money  to  settle  with  the  two  fishermen, 
and  sent  them  ashore.  I  then  hailed  a  galley,  and  dispatched 
her  to  Deal  for  such  a  supply  of  fresh  meat  and  vegetables  and 
ale  as  would  give  all  hands  of  us  a  good  dinner  and  supper,  and 
when  the  punt  was  gone  I  called  the  crew  aft,  told  them  that 
I'd  take  them  ashore  next  day,  and  pay  them  off  in  English 
money  at  my  uncle's  house  near  Sandwich  ;  I  also  thanked  them 
for  their  good  behavior  during  the  long  passage  from  the 
Southern  Ocean,  and  shook  each  man  by  the  hand  as  a  friend 
who  had  served  me  very  honestly  at  a  time  when  my  necessities 
were  great. 

The  wind  shifted  during  the  day,  and  a  number  of  ships 
brought  up  in  the  Downs.  A  few  small  craft  dropped  anchor 
near  the  brig. 

I  heeded  them  not,  nor  the  bigger  vessels  beyond.  I  feared 
only  the  arrival  of  a  man-of-war,  and  the  being  boarded  by  her 
for  men.  In  the  afternoon  a  fine  ship-sloop  passed  through 
the  Gulls  heading  west;  I  watched  her  with  the  steadfast  eye 
of  a  cat,  dreading  to  behold  her  tall  breasts  of  topsails  sud- 
denly shiver  to  the  wind,  her  loftier  canvas  vanish,  and  her 


MYNHEER    TULP.  397 

anchor  fall.  She  foamed  onward,  heeling  a  bright  line  of  cop- 
per off  the  Foreland,  and  vanished  round  that  giant  elbow  of 
chalk  with  her  yards  bracing  up,  and  her  bowlines  tricing  out 
for  a  "ratch"  down  Channel. 

When  the  evening  came  along,  the  dusk  was  deep  but  clear. 

There  was  no  wet;  the  breeze  was  about  south — a  steady, 
warm  wind — a  six-knot  breeze.  The  scene  of  Downs  was  very 
dark ;  you  would  think  it  black  by  contrast  with  the  picture  it 
makes  by  night  in  these  times.  Ships  then  showed  no  riding 
lights.  Here  and  there  a  lantern  gleamed  from  the  end  of  a 
spritsail  yard,  from  the  extremity  of  a  mizzen-boom.  The 
Goodwin  Sands  were  lampless,  save  in  the  far  north,  where 
burnt  the  spark  first  kindled  by  that  worthy  Quaker  of  North 
Shields,  Henry  Taylor.  The  lights  of  the  little  town  of 
Ramsgate  glowed  soft  and  faint  upon  the  face  of  the  dark  heap 
of  cliff  afar;  the  lights  along  Deal  Beach  twinkled  windily. 
It  was  a  very  proper  night  for  our  adventure — dark,  and  but 
little  sea,  and  wind  enough. 

Shortly  after  six  bells — eleven  by  the  clock — I  spied  a 
shadow  to  windward,  drawing  out  of  the  south.  The  dusky 
phantom  came  along  slowly,  as  though  she  took  a  wary  look  at 
the  several  little  craft  she  passed.  She  shaped  herself  out 
upon  the  darkness  presently — a  large  Deal  lugger.  When  she 
was  under  our  stern  she  hailed.  I,  who  had  been  impatiently 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  this  vessel,  sprang  on  to  the  taffrail  and 
sang  out: 

"What  lugger's  that?" 

"The  Seamen  s  Friend,'"  was  the  reply. 

"Who  is  the  man  that  answers?"  I  called. 

"Jarvie  Files." 

"Right  y'are!"  I  cried. 

The  lugger's  helm  was  put  down,  and  she  came  alongside. 
One  of  my  Whitby  men  was  on  the  forecastle,  keeping  what 
we  term  at  sea  an  "anchor  watch."  I  told  him  to  remain 
forward. 

"There  are  men  enough,"  said  I,  "belonging  to  the  lugger 
to  answer  my  turn." 

The  others  and  the  Kanaka  were  in  the  forecastle  asleep. 
Jimmy  was  awake  in  the  cabin,  where  the  lamp  was  alight. 
Several  figures  came  over  the  side,  and  one  of  them,  catching 
sight  of  me,  said: 

"Are  you  Mr.  Fieldinc?" 

"I  am." 


398  LIST,    YE   LANDSMEN ! 

"Tm  from  Capt'n  Round,  sir.  The  coast'll  be  dear,  I 
allow;  but  we'll  have  to  look  sharp.     Where's  the  stuff?" 

"Follow  me,"  said  I. 

This  Jarvie  Files,  and,  perhaps,  five  others — men  heavily 
booted,  with  great  shawls  round  their  necks  and  fur  caps  drawn 
down  to  their  eyebrows — tramped  after  me  into  the  cabin. 
Lanterns  were  ready.  I  showed  them  the  hatch  of  the  laz- 
arette;  and,  in  about  half  an  hour's  time,  they  had  cleared  out 
the  last  case,  had  stowed  it  in  the  lugger  alongside,  and  were 
hoisting  their  sail.  Their  dispatch  was  wonderful;  but  they 
were  of  a  race  of  men  who  had  been  disciplined  into  an  exqui- 
site agility  in  the  art  of  dishing  the  revenue  by  the  barbarous 
severity  of  the  laws  against  smuggling  in  that  age.  I  watched 
the  big  boat  haul  her  sheet  aft  and  stand  away  with  her  head 
to  the  eastward.  She  blended  quickly  with  the  obscurity  and 
I  lost  her.  I  guessed  she  was  feigning  a  "ratch"  toward  the 
Ostend  coast,  to  dodge  any  shore-going  eye  that  may  have 
rested  upon  her,  and  that  presently  she  would  be  shifting  her 
helm  for  Pegwell  Bay,  where  carts  waited  to  convey  the  silver 
to  my  uncle's  house. 

I  went  into  the  cabin  when  I  lost  sight  of  her,  lay  down, 
and  slept  very  soundly  and  dreamt  happily.  I  was  too  tired  to 
rejoice;  otherwise  I  should  have  mixed  a  tumbler  of  spirits 
and  lighted  a  pipe,  and  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  a  long  contem- 
plation of  the  successful  issue  of  Tulp's  expedition. 

I  awoke  in  the  gray  of  the  dawn,  and,  going  on  deck,  found 
promise  of  a  fine  day.  I  searched  the  shore  and  beach,  down 
in  the  bay  and  about  the  river,  with  the  brig's  telescope,  but 
nothing  showed  that  was  to  be  likened  to  the  lugger  of  last 
night.  After  breakfast,  the  Whitby  men  came  aft  and  said 
they'd  be  glad  to  go  ashore  soon.  They  wanted  to  get  to 
Ramsgate,  where  they  might  find  a  coalman  bound  to  their 
port.  I  answered  that  I  could  not  leave  the  brig  until  a  care- 
taker arrived,  and  that  there  was  no  use  in  their  going  ashore 
unless  I  went  with  them  to  pay  them  off  at  my  uncle's. 
However,  half  an  hour  after  this  a  punt,  with  a  big  lug,  put 
off  from  Deal  Beach,  and  blew  alongside  with  five  men  in  her, 
two  of  whom  came  on  board  and  said  that  they  had  received 
instructions  from  Captain  Round  to  take  charge  of  the  vessel 
while  she  lay  at  anchor. 

"All  right,"  said  I,  "you  are  the  men  I  have  been  waiting 
for,"  and  I  told  the  Whitby  fellows  and  the  Kanaka  to  collect 
their  traps  and  get  into  the  boat.     I  then  took  Jimmy  into  my 


MYNHEER    TULP.  399 

cabin  and  gave  him  several  parcels  of  Greaves'  effects  to 
convey  to  the  punt.  All  that  belonged  to  Greaves  I  took;  I 
cleared  the  cabin  of  nautical  instruments,  books,  chronome- 
ters, and  the  rest,  and  left  nothing  but  dirt  and  dust  for  old 
Tulp.  I  then  got  into  the  boat  with  Jimmy,  and  we  headed 
for  the  beach. 

When  Miss  Aurora  went  ashore  her  gaze  had  been  bent 
landward;  she  never  once  turned  to  take  a  farewell  look  at  the 
old  brig  that  had  saved  her  life.  I  could  not  blame  her.  She 
had  had  enough  of  the  little  ship.  For  my  part,  I  could  look 
at  nothing  else  as  we  rowed  to  the  beach.  I  had  not  been  out 
of  the  brig  since  I  had  landed  on  the  island  to  get  the  dollars 
out  of  the  cave.  For  many  long  months  had  the  Black  Watch 
been  my  home,  the  theater  of  the  most  dramatic  of  all  the 
passages  of  my  life;  she  had  earned  me  a  fortune;  she  had 
rescued  me  from  drowning;  I  could  not  take  a  farewell  look 
without  affection  and  regret.  She  sat  very  light,  and  in  her 
faint  rolls  hove  out  a  little  show  of  grass;  but  her  copper  was 
cleaner  than  I  had  supposed  it.  Her  sides  were  worn  and 
rusty,  her  rigging  slack,  her  masts  grimy,  her  whole  appear- 
ance that  of  a  vessel  which  had  encountered  and  victoriously 
survived  some  very  fierce  and  frightful  usage  in  distant  seas. 
I  kept  my  gaze  fastened  on  her  till  the  keel  of  the  punt  drove 
on  to  the  beach. 

The  sailors  and  the  Kanaka  handed  their  chests  over  to  the 
landlord  of  an  ale-house  for  safe  keeping;  I  then  gave  each 
man,  and  drank  myself,  a  pint  of  beer,  after  which  we 
trudged  off  toward  my  uncle's  house.  We  talked  merrily  as 
we  went;  our  hearts  were  filled  with  the  delights  of  the  scenes 
and  sights  of  the  summer  land;  our  salted  nostrils  swelled  large 
to  the  sweetness  of  the  haystacks  and  the  aromas  of  the  little 
farmyards  and  orchards  we  tramped  past;  no  man  would 
smoke,  that  he  might  breathe  purely. 

My  uncle  awaited  us;  my  aunt  gave  me  such  a  hug  as  the 
Prodigal  Son  would  have  got  from  his  mother  had  his  father 
been  out  of  sight.  I  asked  after  Madam  Aurora;  she  had 
driven  to  Deal  that  morning  to  shop,  and,  as  she  had  borrowed 
twenty  pounds,  her  shopping  might  probably  run  into  some 
hours.  It  was  one  o'clock;  a  hearty  meal  had  been  prepared 
in  the  kitchen  for  the  men,  and  while  they  ate  I  dined  with  my 
uncle  and  aunt  off  a  roast  leg  of  pork  in  the  parlor  adjacent, 
where  we  could  hear  the  fellows'  gruff  voices  and  Jimmy's 
bleating  laugh.     The  chests  had  been  securely  landed,  Uncle 


400  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

Joe  told  me,  and  safely  housed  in  his  cellar.  The  silver  made 
five  loads.  They  asked  me  to  tell  the  whole  story  of  the  dis- 
covery of  those  dollars  over  again,  and  my  aunt  put  many 
questions  about  the  Senorita  Aurora,  who,  she  declared,  was 
the  finest,  most  elegant,  and  genteel  lady  she  had  ever  seen  in 
her  life. 

When  we  and  the  men  had  dined,  my  uncle  called  them 
into  the  parlor  and  took  a  receipt  from  each  of  them  for  three 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  he  paid  down  in  English 
gold.  They  thanked  him  for  his  hospitality,  begged  their 
humble  respects  to  the  lady  Aurora,  wished  me  many  bless- 
ings, and  with  some  hair-pulling  and  scrapes  and  bows  got 
out  of  the  room  and  went  their  ways.  I  never  saw  or  heard  of 
those  honest  fellows  again,  though  I  learnt  that  on  this  same 
day,  after  leaving  us,  they  and  the  Kanaka  took  a  boat  and 
sailed  across  to  Ramsgate,  where,  no  doubt,  they  found  a 
north-country  collier  bound  to  their  parts. 

Jimmy  had  brought  Captain  Greaves'  belongings  under  his 
arm  and  on  his  back,  the  others  carrying  a  few  of  the  parcels 
among  them.  My  uncle  and  I  overhauled  the  poor  fellow's 
effects,  and  then  sat  down  to  talk  over  his  will,  to  write  a  letter 
to  Mynheer  Tulp,  and  to  consider  how  we  were  to  convert 
what  silver  belonged  to  me  and  to  Greaves  into  British  cur- 
rency. 

"First  of  all,  Bill,"  said  my  uncle,  "we'll  knock  off  a  letter 
to  Tulp  and  send  it  away.  Let  him  fetch  his  brig  and  his 
money;  there'll  be  more  daylight  to  see  by  when  they're  out 
of  the  road." 

So  I  took  a  sheet  of  paper  and  addressed  a  letter  to  Mynheer 
Bartholomew  Tulp  at  his  house  in  Amsterdam,  his  residence 
being  known  to  me  through  perusal  of  Greaves'  papers.  I 
stated  that  the  brig  Black  Watch  had  arrived  in  the  Downs  on 
the  previous  day,  that  her  voyage  had  been  successful,  that  the 
cargo  was  housed  ashore,  and  that  Greaves  had  died  during 
the  passage  home;  and  I  begged  Mr.  Tulp  to  lose  not  a 
moment  in  visiting  me  at  my  uncle's  house,  that  he  might 
receive  what  belonged  to  him,  for  peril  lurked  in  the  pro- 
tracted detention  of  the  brig  in  the  Downs.  When  this  letter 
was  written  I  dispatched  it  to  Sandwich  by  Jimmy,  that  it 
might  be  transmitted  without  delay. 

"Tulp  will  take  his  dollars  at  his  own  risk,"  said  my  uncle, 
blowing  out  a  cloud  of  smoke;  "your  own  dollars  and  the 
silver  belonging  to  Greaves'll  have  to  be  negotiated  cautiously; 


MYNHEER    TULP.  4^1 

It's  a  lot  of  money  to  deal  with,  and  it  mustn't  be  handled  in 
the  lump.  We'll  have  to  work  by  degrees  through  the  money 
changers;  find  out  several  of  them  in  London,  and  deal  with 
'em  one  arter  the  other  at  intervals.  Then  we  may  make  it 
worth  the  while  of  the  smugglers,  some  of  my  own  particular 
friends,  to  relieve  us  of  a  chest  or  two.  My  son-in-law'll  take 
some;  he's  often  trading  Mediterranean  way ;  but  I'm  afeared 
it  won't  do,  Bill,  to  trouble  the  banks;  we  don't  want  any 
questions  to  arise.  How  it  might  work  out  as  a  matter  of  law 
I  don't  know;  safest  to  look  upon  these  here  dollars  as  run 
goods  and  treat  'em  accordingly." 

I  fully  agreed  with  him,  and  it  was  settled  that  the  money 
should  be  exchanged  in  the  manner  he  proposed.  We  then 
talked  of  Greaves'  will.  Indeed,  we  talked  of  many  more 
things  than  I  can  recollect.  Nothing,  however,  could  be  done 
until  Mynheer  Tulp  turned  up.  Every  day  I  boarded  the  brig 
and  saw  that  all  was  right  with  the  dear  little  ship ;  and  I 
remember  once  that  while  I  stood  with  the  lady  Aurora  and 
my  uncle  on  Deal  Beach,  viewing  the  vessel  and  recounting  our 
experiences  in  her  yet  again,  it  occurred  to  me  to  buy  her,  to 
re-equip  her,  put  a  good  sailor  in  command  of  her,  and  send 
her  away  to  make  a  rich  voyage  for  me.  I  smiled  when  I  had 
thus  thought;  it  had  been  Miss  Aurora's  notion,  and  had  she 
consented  to  marry  me  I  daresay  I  should  have  bought  the 
brig.  But  I  said  to  myself,  "No"  ;  the  brig  is  not  Tulp's  to 
sell;  I  must  deal  with  her  owner,  whose  curiosity  might  prove 
inconveniently  penetrating;  I  have  my  money  and  I'll  keep  it; 
and  so  I  dismissed  the  Black  Watch  as  a  venture  out  of  my 
head. 

One  day — I  think  it  was  about  a  week  after  I  had  written  to 
Amsterdam — I  returned  with  my  lady  Aurora  to  my  uncle's 
house  after  a  morning's  stroll*  about  Deal.  I  heard  voices  in 
the  parlor;   Miss  Aurora  went  upstairs. 

"Who  is  here?"  said  I  to  the  old  chap  who  opened  the 
door. 

"Mr.  Tulp,  from  Amsterdam,  sir,"  he  answered. 

On  this  I  knocked  upon  the  door  and  entered  the  parlor. 

Had  I  lived  with  Mynheer  Tulp  a  month  I  could  not  have 
carried  in  my  head  a  more  striking  image  of  the  man  than  my 
fancy  had  painted   out  of  Greaves'  brief  description  of  him. 

He  was  a  little,  withered  old  fellow,  a  mere  trifle  of  months, 
I  daresay,  on  this  side  seventy;  nose  long  and  hooked,  face 
hollow  and  yellow,  eyes  small,  black,  and  down-looking,  though 


402  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN ! 

often  a  leary  lift  of  the  lids  sent  a  piercer  at  the  person  he 
talked  to;  he  wore  a  wig,  and  was  dressed  in  the  fashion  of 
the  close  of  last  century.  He  was  the  man  I  had  dreamt  of — 
the  substance  of  the  phantom  I  had  beheld  when  I  looked  at 
poor  Greaves,  and  wondered  whether  his  dollar-ship  was  a 
dream  or  not. 

My  uncle  was  red  in  the  face  and  was  talking  loudly  when  I 
entered. 

"So!  Und  dis  vhas  Mr.  Fielding?"  said  Mynheer  Tulp 
standing  up  and  extending  his  hand.  "Veil,  I  vhas  glad  to 
see  you." 

He  uttered  even  this  commonplace  slowly  and  cautiously  as 
though  he  feared  his  tongue. 

"Now,  Bill,"  cried  my  uncle,  "I  want  you  to  show 
Greaves'  bond  to  Mr.  Tulp;  for  he  says  you  aren't  entitled 
to  more  than  your  wages — not  even  to  them  as  a  matter  of 
law,  seeing  you  wasn't  shipped  by  him." 

"I  tink  you  vill  find  dot  right,"  said  Mynheer  Tulp. 

I  carried  Greaves'  bond,  as  well  as  his  will,  in  my  pocket;  I 
placed  the  bond  or  agreement  upon  the  table,  and  Mynheer 
Tulp,  picking  it  up,  put  on  a  large  pair  of  spectacles  and  read 
it  through. 

"Dis  vhas  of  no  use, ".said  he. 

"We'll  see,"  said  my  uncle. 

"Understand  me,  Mr.  Fielding,"  continued  the  little  Dutch- 
man. "I  don't  mean  to  say  dot  you  have  not  acted  very 
veil,  und  dot  you  vhas  not  entitled  to  a  handsome  reward, 
vhich  certainly  you  shall  have;  but  vhen  you  talk  to  me  of 
dirty  odd  tousand  dollars — six  tousand  pounds  of  English 
money — — "  he  grinned  hideously  and  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders. 

"What  would  you  consider  a  handsome  reward?"  said  I. 

"You  vhas  second  mate.  I  learn  from  your  uncle  dot  your 
life  vhas  safed  by  my  brig.  Should  I  sharge  you  mit  safing 
your  life  ?  No.  But  if  I  vhas  you  I  should  consider  der  safing 
of  my  life  as  handsome  a  reward  as  I  had  der  right  to  expect 
for  any  services  afterward  })erformed.  But  mit  you,  my  good 
young  man,  I  goes  much  further.  You  have  navigated  the 
brig  safely  home  mit  my  money,  und  I  say  help  yourself,  my 
boy,  to  five  hundred  pounds  of  der  dollars  before  I  takes 
them." 

"Before  you  takes  'em!"  cried  my  uncle.  "You'll  need 
every  line-of-battle  ship  that  Holland  possesses  to  enable  you 


MYNHEER    TULP.  4^3 

to  catch  even  a  glimpse  of  the  dollars  afore  all  things  are  set- 
tled to  my  nephew  Bill's  satisfaction." 

"Vhat  vhas  your  name  again,  sir?" 

"Captain  Joseph  Round." 

"You  hov  der  looks  of  an  honest  man,  Captain  Round. 
You  vould  not  rob  me?" 

"Not  a  ha-penny  leaves  this  house,"  said  my  uncle,  "until 
Bill  here  has  taken  his  share  according  to  your  skipper's  bond, 
and  until  he's  deducted  the  money  that  the  captain  has  left  by 
will,  lawfully  signed  and  witnessed." 

"I  likes  to  see  dot  vill,"  said  Mynheer  Tulp,  speaking 
always  very  composedly,  and  occasionally  snapping  a  look 
under  his  eyelids  at  one  or  the  other  of  us. 

I  put  the  will  on  the  table.  He  picked  it  up  and  read  it. 
When  he  had  read  it  he  again  grinned  hideously,  and  said: 

"Your  name  vhas  Villiam  Fielding?" 

"Yes." 

"Und  you  benefit  under  dis  vill  to  der  amount  of  von 
tousand  pounds?" 

"Yaw,"  said  I. 

"Und  you  vitness  der  vill  dot  vhas  to  benefit  you?  Shen- 
tlemen,  it  vhas  not  vorth  the  paper  it  vhas  wrote  on ;"  and  he 
threw  the  will  upon  the  table. 

"It  matters  not  one  jot,"  said  I,  who,  as  I  had  never 
attached  the  least  significance  to  the  legality  of  this  sailor- 
made  will,  was  in  no  wise  astonished,  because  I  reckoned  old 
Tulp  perfectly  right.  "About  forty-two  thousand  pounds' 
worth  of  the  thirteen  tons  of  dollars  I  have  brought  home  for 
you  at  the  risk  of  my  life  I  keep,  Mynheer.  D'ye  understand 
me?  I  keep,  I  say,"  and  I  repeated  the  sentence  thrice,  while 
I  approached  him  by  a  couple  of  strides.  "Seven  thousand 
are  mine;  the  rest  will  go  to  the  erection  of  a  church." 

"Der  money,"  said  Mynheer  Tulp  without  irritation,  though 
his  yellow  complexion  was  a  shade  paler  than  it  had  been  a 
little  while  before,  "vhas  left  to  der  Church  of  Englandt?" 

"You  have  read  it,"  said  I. 

"Now,  shentlemen,"  continued  the  little  Dutchman,  "dere 
vhas  a  Church  of  Englandt,  certainly;  but  dere  vhas  no  Church 
of  Englandt  dot  a  man  can  leaf  money  to." 

"You  know  a  sight  too  much,"  shouted  my  uncle.  "The 
money's  in  my  cellar,  and  there  it  stops  till  you  settle." 

"Der  Church  of  Englandt,"  said  Mynheer  Tulp,  "vhas  a 
single  body  dot  has  no  property.      You  cannot  leaf  money  to 


404  LIST,    VE  LANDSMEhn 

der  Church  of  Englandt.      Dot  alone  makes  my  poor  stepson's 
vill  nooll  und  void." 

"The  money  remains  where  it  is "  began  my  uncle. 

"Do  you  allow,"  I  interrupted,  "that  Captain  Greaves  has 
a  right  to  his  share?" 

"Do  I  allow  it?     Do  I  allow  it?" 

"You  allow  it.  He  could,  therefore,  do  what  he  likes  with 
his  share?" 

"Dot  vhas  right." 

"Do  you  know  that  he  wished  a  church  to  be  built  as  a 
memorial  to  his  mother,,  who  was  your  wife,  1  believe?" 

"Dot  vhas  very  beautiful.  But  he  vhas  dead,  und  dot  vill 
vhas  not  vorth  the  ink  it  took  to  write  out.  I  vhas  next  of 
kin,  und  I  takes  my  poor  stepson's  share." 

When  he  had  said  this,  my  uncle  and  I  spoke  together;  and 
from  this  moment  began  an  altercation  which  I  should  need 
a  volume  to  embody.  Tulp  lost  his  temper;  my  uncle  roared 
at  him ;  I,  too,  being  furious  with  the  meanness  of  the 
wretched  little  beast,  often  found  myself  bawling  as  though  I 
were  in  a  gale  of  wind.  Tulp's  threats  flew  fast  and  furious. 
Uncle  Joe  snapped  his  fingers  under  his  long  nose,  and  defied 
him  in  a  voice  hoarse  and  failing  with  exertion.  I  began  to 
see  the  idleness  and  the  absurdity  of  all  this,  and,  throwing 
open  the  parlor  door,  I  exclaimed: 

"Mr.  Tulp,  get  you  back  to  Amsterdam,  and  there  sit  and 
reflect.  When  you  come  into  our  way  of  thinking,  write;  and 
then  fetch  your  money.  Go  to  law,  if  you  please.  The 
Spanish  consignees  of  the  dollars  will  thank  you." 

The  perspiration  poured  from  the  little  man's  face,  and  he 
trembled  violently.  His  yellow  complexion  under  the  pres- 
sure of  his  temper,  which  often  forced  his  voice  into  a  shriek, 
had  changed  into  several  dyes  of  green  and  sulphur,  like  that 
of  one  in  a  fit.  He  stared  wildly  about  him  in  search  of  his 
strange  little  hat,  which,  however,  he  forgot  he  had  already 
snatched  up  and  was  holding. 

"You'll  have  to  bear  a  hand  with  your  decision,"  cried  my 
uncle,  whose  face  looked  almost  as  queer  as  Tulp's,  with  its 
purple  skin  and  blue  lips;  "they're  beginning  to  ask  questions 
about  the  brig,  and  if  you  don't  send  for  her  soon  she'll  be 
going  a-7nissi>?g.  You  know  what  I  mean.  The  Goodn's  are 
handy,  and  my  nephew  aint  going  to  forfeit  his  rightful  share 
of  the  dollars  because  of  her.  The  recovery  of  this  silver  is  to 
be  more  than  a  salvage  job  to  Bill.     There's  nigh  upon  forty 


MYNHEER    TULP.  4^5 

thousand  pounds  belonging  to  you  a-lying  in  my  cellars,  but  if 
ye  aren't  quick  in  fetching  it  something  may  happen  to  oblige 
me  to  send  all  them  chests  out  of  my  house,  and  then  it'll  be 
no  business  of  mine  to  larn  what's  become  of  'em." 

The  little  Dutchman,  now  perceiving  that  he  held  his  hat, 
clapped  it  on  his  head  and  ran  out  of  the  room. 

We  heard  no  more  of  him  that  day;  though  next  morning 
the  old  longshoreman  who  waited  upon  my  uncle  said  that  he 
had  seen  the  Utile  man  pass  the  house,  pause, "Walk  up  and 
down  irresolutely,  then  hurry  away  in  the  direction  of  Sand- 
wich. As  I  could  not  get  to  hear  of  him  at  Deal  I  guessed  he 
lurked  in  Sandwich,  and  caused  Jimmy  to  make  inquiries, 
which  resulted  in  the  discovery  that  Mynheer  Tulp  was  stop- 
ping at  the  Fleur  de  Lys  Hotel.  Three  days  after  he  had  vis- 
ited my  uncle  he  wrote  to  offer  me  half  a  ton  of  the  silver, 
worth  something  over  three  thousand  pounds,  on  condition 
that  my  uncle  peaceably  surrendered  the  rest  of  the  money 
to  him,  and  assisted  him  to  convey  it  to  Amsterdam.  I 
answered  this  by  repeating  my  uncle's  threat,  that  if  very 
shortly  he  did  not  agree  to  my  terms  the  silver  would  be 
removed,  my  uncle  would  have  no  knowledge  of  its  where- 
abouts, and  I  myself  would  go  abroad. 

On  the  morning  following  the  dispatch  of  this  missive,  Miss 
Aurora  received  a  letter;  she  read  it  and  uttered  a  loud  shriek, 
fell  off  her  chair  at  the  breakfast  table  round  which  we  were 
seated,  and  lay  upon  the  floor  in  a  dead  swoon.  We  thought 
she  had  died,  and  our  fright  was  extreme.  We  picked  her  up 
and  placed  her  upon  a  sofa,  and  went  to  work  to  recover  her. 
Presently  her  sighs  and  moans  satisfied  us  that  she  was  not 
dead.  I  glanced  at  the  letter  she  had  received;  it  was  in 
Spanish.  I  took  the  liberty  of  looking  a  little  closely;  it  was 
signed  by  the  Sefiora  de  la  Cueva. 

"She  has  heard  from  her  mother!"   I  cried. 

She  rallied  presently,  and  then  followed  a  scene  scarcely 
less  exciting  in  its  way  than  the  shindy  that  had  attended  the 
visit  of  Mynheer  Tulp.  Miss  Aurora  read  the  letter  aloud ; 
and  as  she  read  she  wept,  then  burst  into  fits  of  laughter, 
sprang  about  the  room,  sat  again,  continued  to  read,  inter- 
rupting herself  often  by  clasping  her  hands,  lifting  them  to  the 
ceiling,  raising  her  streaming  eyes,  and  thanking  the  Holy 
Mother  of  God  for  this  act  of  mercy  in  utterance  so  impas- 
sioned that  the  like  of  it  was  never  heard  on  the  stage. 

My  homely  uncle,  my  yet  homelier  aunt  looked  on,  scarcely 


4o6  LIST,     YE  LANDSMEN! 

knowing  whether  to  shed  tears  or  to  laugh.  I  was  very  used 
to  her  ladyship's  performances,  but  there  was  something  in 
this  exhibition  of  ecstasy  that  went  far  beyond  anything  I  had 
ever  beheld  in  her. 

"I  rejoice  indeed  to  learn  that  the  senora  is  safe,"  said  I. 

"Oh,  it  is  a  miracle!  a  miracle!"  she  cried ;  and  then  she 
wept  and  laughed  and  carried  on  as  before,  reading  aloud  in 
Spanish,  and  lifting  up  her  eyes  in  gratitude  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin. 

At  last  she  calmed  down,  and  we  conversed  without  the 
interruption  of  emotional  outbreaks.  Her  niother  gave_  no 
particulars  of  her  deliverance.  Mr.  Maxwell  had  received 
Aurora's  letter;  he  was  ill  in  his  bed,  therefore  she,  the 
sefiora,  had  made  her  way  to  London — choosing  that  port 
instead  of  Falmouth,  because  of  the  situation  of  Deal — in- 
tending to  proceed  to  Sandwich.  But  her  infirmities  had 
overwhelmed  her;  the  fatigue  of  the  journey  had  been  so  great 
that  she  was  unable  to  leave  her  room  in  London.  Her 
daughter  must  come  to  her,  and  without  an  instant's  delay. 

Within  three  hours  of  the  receipt  of  this  letter  my  uncle 
drove  the  lady  Aurora  and  me  over  to  Deal,  where  we  saw  her 
safely  into  the  London  coach.  She  had  said  many  kind  things 
to  me  as  we  drove  to  Deal,  had  taken  my  hand  and  pressed  it 
while  she  thanked  me  for — but  what  does  it  matter  how  and 
for  what  this  young  lady  thanked  me?  She  tried  to  exact 
many  promises;  I  made  none.  Before  she  stepped  into  the 
coach  she  seized  my  hand,  looked  at  me  hard,  and  her  fine 
eyes  swam.  Nothing  was  said;  she  took  her  seat;  I  and  my 
uncle  stood  apart  waiting  while  the  coachman  gathered  his 
reins  and  prepared  for  the  start.  The  horses'  heads  were 
then  let  go,  I  raised  my  liat,  the  coach  drove  off,  and  I  saw  no 
more  of  the  Sehorita  Aurora  de  la  Cueva.  I  say  I  saw  no 
more  of  her;  in  truth,  though  I  once  again  heard  of  her,  I 
never  received  a  single  line  from  her.  And  possibly  I  should 
never  have  heard  of  her  again  but  for  her  sending  from  Mad- 
rid a  draft  for  the  money  she  had  borrowed  from  Uncle  Joe. 
She  warmly  and  gracefully  thanked  Captain  and  Mrs.  Round 
for  their  hospitality,  begged  them  to  remember  her  most 
gratefully  to  her  valued  and  valiant  friend,  their  nephew,  and 
then,  so  far  as  I  was  concerned,  the  curtain  fell  upon  her 
forever. 

Mynheer  Bartholomew  Tulp  lurked  through  a  long  week  at 
Sandwich.      In  that  week  he  sent  me   four  letters  and   each 


MYNHEER    TULP.  4©  7 

letter  contained  a  fresh  proposal.  I  sent  a  single  reply:  that 
every  proposal  must  be  hugely  preposterous  unless  it  went  on 
all-fours  with  Greaves'  will  and  the  agreement  with  me.  He 
was  seen  on  several  occasions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
house;  once  Jimmy  perceived  him  looking  in  at  the  gate,  and 
supposed  that  he  meant  to  call;  but  the  little  man  made  off  on 
finding  himself  observed. 

At  last,  at  the  expiration  of  nine  or  ten  days — and  this 
brought  us  to  a  Monday — I  received  a  letter  from  Mynheer 
Tulp.     We  were  at  dinner  at  the  time;  my  uncle  cried  out: 

"What  does  he  say.  Bill?  Willing,'  perhaps,  to  spring 
another  hundred  pound?" 

I  read  the  letter  aloud;  it  was  well  expressed,  in  good  Eng- 
lish. Mynheer  said  he  had  thought  the  matter  over,  and  was 
prepared  to  settle  with  me  on  my  own  terms.  He  admitted 
that  I  had  a  right  to  the  share  which  Van  Laar  would  have 
received ;  that  Greaves'  signature  to  the  will  indicated  his 
wishes  as  to  the  disposal  of  his  money,  which,  of  course,  he 
would  have  received  as  his  share  of  the  venture,  had  he  lived. 
Would  I  permit  him  to  call  upon  me? 

I  immediately  dispatched  Jimmy  with  an  answer,  and  in  half 
an  hous's  time  the  little  Dutchman  was  seated  in  my  uncle's 
parlor.  He  was  submissive  and,  in  his  way,  very  apologetic. 
Yet,  though  he  had  come  to  confirm  the  terms  of  his  own  letter 
to  me,  midnight  was  striking  before  every  point  was  settled. 
His  rapacity  was  shark-like.  It  cost  my  uncle  and  me  above 
an  hour  to  make  the  little  man  agree  to  call  the  value  of  the 
dollar  four  shillings.  He  disputed  long  and  shrilly  over  a 
small  share  that  I  claimed  for  the  honest  lad  Jimmy.  He 
opposed  the  repayment  of  the  wages  of  the  Whitby  men  and 
the  Kanaka  out  of  the  common  stock,  as  though  he  believed 
that  my  uncle  would  bear  that  charge!  He  was  nearly  leaving 
the  house  on  the  question  of  the  sum  due  to  Jarvie  Files  and 
his  men  for  "running"  the  dollars.  He  insisted  that  my 
money  and  Greaves'  should  bear  a  proportion  of  the  loss  of 
the  three  tons  of  silver  stolen  by  Yan  Bol  and  his  crew.  He 
grew  furious  when  my  uncle  insisted  upon  charging  him  for 
storage  and  risk,  and  thrice  in  that  discussion  arose  to  go. 

But  by  midnight,  as  I  have  said,  all  was  settled.  He  now 
asked  leave  to  live  in  the  house  until  he  could  remove  his 
money  to  the  brig,  in  which  he  proposed  to  sail  to  Amsterdam, 
taking  with  him  for  a  crew  the  men  of  the  SeaiJieji' s  Friend. 
My  uncle  told  him  he  would  be  welcome,  giving  me  at  the 


4o8  LIST,    YE  LANDSMEN  I 

same  time  a  wink  of  deep  disgust  at  the  motive  of  the  old 
chap's  request.  It  took  us  several  days  to  count  the  dollars, 
and  all  the  while  little  Bartholomew  Tulp  sat  looking  on. 
What  was  left  as  his  share,  after  deductions,  I  never  heard; 
it  came,  I  believe,  near  to  fifty  thousand  pounds.  When  the 
division  was  made  he  went  on  board  the  brig;  Jarvie  Files  and 
his  men  carried  his  chests  to  the  Black  Watch  in  the  dead  of 
night,  and  when,  next  morning,  I  went  down  to  the  beach  to 
look  for  the  now  familiar  figure  of  the  brig  riding  to  her  two 
anchors,  her  place  was  empty. 

This,  then,  is  the  story  of  Greaves'  discovery,  and  of  the 
part  I  played  in  it.  Of  Yan  Bol  and  his  men  I  heard  nothing 
for  eighteen  months;  I  then  got  a  letter  from  Captain  Horsley, 
dated  at  Whitby.  He  had  touched  at  Amsterdam  Island, 
found  no  signs  of  Yan  Bol  and  his  party,  then  dug  in  the  place 
I  had  indicated  without  finding  the  silver.  There  was  no  look 
of  the  earth  having  been  turned  up  in  that  place.  A  gale  of 
wind  blew  him  off  the  island;  then,  a  fortnight  later,  he  spoke  a 
ship  bound  to  Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  and  learnt  from  her 
that  she  had  picked  up  a  party  of  seamen  sixty  leagues  east- 
ward of  Amsterdam  Island;  they  were  six  men,  three  of  them 
in  a  dying  condition  for  want  of  water.  He  had  no  doubt, 
and  neither  had  nor  have  I,  that  they  were  Yan  Bol  and  his 
mates;  but  what  had  the  wretches  done  with  the  three  tons  of 
dollars? 

Did  I,  when  we  had  exchanged  the  large  sum  of  dollars  into 
English  money,  did  I  procure  the  erection  and  endowment  of 
a  church  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  Michael  Greaves? 
I  answer  yes;  most  piously  and  anxiously  did  I  fulfill  my 
friend's  dying  wish.  Will  I  tell  you  the  name  of  the  church, 
and  where  it  is  situated?  No;  I  have  worshiped  in  it,  but  I 
will  not  tell  you  its  name  and  where  it  is  situated,  because  this 
book  is  a  confession,  and  I  am  informed  that  if  the  descend- 
ants or  inheritors  of  the  Spanish  consignees,  or  the  owners  of 
the  dollars,  learnt  that  a  church  had  been  built  out  of  the 
money,  they  could  and  might  advance  a  claim  that  would  give 
all  concerned  in  that  church  on  this  side  great  trouble. 

One  little  memorial  I  erected  at  my  own  expense;  it  long 
stood  in  the  garden  of  the  house  in  which  I  dwelt  for  many 
years;  need  I  tell  you  that  it  Avas  a  memorial  to  my  well- 
beloved,  faithful,  deeply-mourned  Galloon? 


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